Charlotte Mecklenburg FOP to hold no-confidence vote against Chief Jennings
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police Board of Directors voted to begin the process of holding a Vote of No Confidence against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings. The FOP notified its members of the decision and is now collecting feedback and conducting a preliminary vote among its membership.
PAST COVERAGE: Mayor Lyles apologizes to CMPD chief amid city settlement
According to an email sent to FOP members, this is the first time a Vote of No Confidence has been introduced as a motion and passed.
The vote comes as the Charlotte City Council secretly voted to settle with Jennings. As Channel 9 reported, Jennings threatened legal action because of how he was treated during last summer's debate over outer carrier vests.
Councilman Tariq Bokhari launched a public campaign to raise money and support for the vests despite Jennings' opposition.
That campaign and the text messages he sent to Jennings led to a settlement for the chief from Charlotte taxpayers, according to sources. It was approved by the Charlotte City Council in closed session. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed. Mayor Vi Lyles apologized to the chief on Wednesday and voiced her support for him.
While Jennings is backed by Lyles and some members of the Charlotte City Council, the Fraternal Order of Police has been vocal in opposition to the settlement and operations of CMPD top brass. The FOP strongly backed Bokhari and the use of outer carrier vests.
The FOP said Charlotte taxpayers should be 'outraged' at the settlement.
The FOP was also critical of Major Brad Koch and CMPD Public Affairs Director Sandy Vastola's collaboration with NAACP President Corine Mack on an ethics complaint against Bokhari. Vastola sued the president of the FOP for defamation in part because of the comments she claimed he made about her in response to a reporter's inquiry. The lawsuit was dismissed, but Vastola is appealing. The FOP president was suspended and reassigned and is alleging it was a retaliatory move.
The Fraternal Order of Police is finalizing the process for an official vote. A timeline has not been announced. The FOP is made up of current and retired officers and civilians. Its membership also includes people from agencies other than CMPD.
Channel 9 has reached out to CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings and the city of Charlotte for comment.
VIDEO: Controversial text messages at the heart of CMPD chief settlement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sherwood Fraternal Order of Police voice support for proposed gun range
Video: New Sherwood development raises concerns in Brushy Island community SHERWOOD, Ark. – A gun range project that has been met with controversy has received the support of the city's Fraternal Order of Police. The shooting range is part of a proposed 22-acre project in the Brushy Island district, which will support an administrative building, a maintenance and operations center, a wash bay, and the police shooting range. The city has broken ground on the project. New Sherwood development raises concerns in Brushy Island community The Sherwood Mathis-Lowe Lodge 15 stated in a Friday announcement that it supports the range. The statement went on to call the range 'imperative' for officer training. 'In previous years, officers have had to travel long distances or to locations with heavy restrictions [to train], preventing us from adequately training on specific techniques,' the announcement states. 'Our officers must be adequately trained in the best techniques to keep the public safe and violent crime out of our city.' The FOP also thanked Mayor Heye-Townsell and the Sherwood City Council for their support of the project. Some residents of the unincorporated Brushy Island have expressed concern about the project's impact and the safety considerations of the range. Fireworks & Foodtrucks celebration returns to Sherwood on July 3 Heye-Townsell, who said previously that the project has been in the works since 2023, and Sherwood Police Chief Jeff Hagar have said the range is designed with safety in mind. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Jeopardy!' Host Ken Jennings Launches Salvo at Trump and ICE Barbie
Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings writes that 'our republic' might be saved from Trump-era misinformation by basic facts, like the meaning of habeas corpus, which Kristi Noem recently flubbed. The scathing takedown came in the form of a new op-ed in The New York Times. When 'Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to define habeas corpus, a bedrock common-law protection under fire from the administration,' Jennings writes, 'Ms. Noem wasn't even close.' The problem with her answer, writes Jennings, is that 'inaccurate facts make for less informed decisions. Less informed decisions make for bad policy. Garbage in, garbage out.' Jennings, who became the primary host of Jeopardy! in 2022 following the death of Alex Trebek in 2020, has irritated those on the right before. In 2020, after several past tweets mocking conservatives resurfaced and drew the ire of MAGA, he apologized for the posts in an X thread at the time, writing, 'Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended.' Jennings was not apologetic in his Times essay, however, as he complained that 'alternative facts' have 'moved to the mainstream.' 'Scientific consensus in fields like climate change and vaccine efficacy is no longer the official position of American government. Ditto for legal facts (birthright citizenship), political facts (the winner of the 2020 election) and historical facts (too many examples to list),' he also writes. 'Inconvenient experts who push back can be removed by executive order; inconvenient books that disagree can be removed from libraries.' Noem's 'incorrect' habeas corpus definition is a great example, Jennings adds, but Jeopardy! viewers give him some hope. 'The game was taped months in advance, so it was by sheer coincidence that one of the five clues concerned the definition of, yes, habeas corpus' the week of Noem's gaffe on the Senate floor. 'The Jeopardy! contestant, you'll be relieved to hear, responded correctly.' 'In a dark time, my secret optimism is that our viewers' love for quiz games is a sign of what can eventually save us: a practical belief in fact and error that is more fundamentally American than the toxic blend of proud ignorance and smarter-than-thou skepticism that's brought us to this point,' Jennings writers, concluding that ultimately, 'trivia and Jeopardy! could save our republic.'
New York Post
18 hours ago
- New York Post
Scott Jennings puts head in trash bin to show how Republicans feel about Trump-Musk feud
CNN's conservative commentator Scott Jennings humorously shoved his head in a trash bin on Thursday to demonstrate how he and others felt about President Donald Trump's new feud with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Though Musk had been a staunch ally of Trump since the 2024 presidential election, the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief broke ranks with the president over his One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Musk described as a 'disgusting abomination' on X Tuesday. Advertisement This led to the two trading escalating barbs on social media, with Musk going so far as to claim Trump's name is in the Jeffrey Epstein file. Jennings tried to capture the sentiment felt by the Republican Party watching the feud while taking part in a panel on 'The Lead with Jake Tapper.' 'Let me just tell you what every Republican is doing,' Jennings said before grabbing a nearby trash barrel and sticking his head in it. 'Here's where we are today. Heads are in the garbage can right now. That's the state of everybody I know at the moment.' 4 Scott Jennings appears on a panel on 'The Lead with Jake Tapper' on June 5, 2025. CNN Advertisement 4 Jennings tried to capture the sentiment felt by the Republican Party watching the feud during his appearance on CNN. CNN In a more serious tone, he said, 'Not gonna lie. It's an ugly day and, you know, you hate it when your friends are fighting. I continue to believe that their partnership last year saved America, and I also continue to believe their goals are not mutually exclusive.' Jennings added that Republicans need to work together to accomplish both Trump's and Musk's goals and warned that Democrats are 'laughing and advancing' while they are fighting. 'Hopefully, cooler heads will soon prevail, and the president can get his agenda and Elon can convince the Republicans that the debt is a serious problem,' Jennings said. Advertisement 4 Jennings sticks his head in a trash can during his take. CNN 4 President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as Elon Musk looks on in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025. AP Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' is currently making its way through the Senate and would fund Trump's agenda, including strengthening border policies and ending taxes on overtime and tips. Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.
