Charlotte Mecklenburg FOP to hold no-confidence vote against Chief Jennings
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
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jasper County purchases hardware to print absentee ballots in-house
Aug. 19—The Jasper County Auditor's Office will be obtaining new hardware to print off absentee ballots in-house during elections rather than ordering them out of state. Supervisors approved the new piece of hardware called "Ballot on Demand" for a total of $8,825, which includes a warranty license, maintenance and support fees. Jasper County Auditor Jenna Jennings said the hardware would only print absentee ballots, which is what many other offices do around the state. Typically, the County Auditor's Office has ballots printed and shipped directly from Omaha. Election Day ballots will still be printed and shipped this way. At the last general election, Jennings said about 27,500 ballots were ordered at a cost of 27 cents each. Coupled with other fees, that totals to about $9,400. "We think we can cut the costs in about half with every election that we are printing our own," Jennings said. "We think it also would be nice to have that as a safeguard if we get low on our stock. And we're always trying to hit that fine line of getting as close to zero left in the office at the end of the day." But the Jasper County Auditor's Office also wants to make sure it has enough in case more citizens show up to vote. Jennings argued the more than $8,000 price tag of the hardware will pay for itself over time. She said the auditor's office went through 8,237 absentee ballots during the 2024 election. "We're seeing an uptick in absentee voters as we continue to go through the years," Jennings said. Election Systems & Software's Ballot on Demand system includes a printer, laptop and BOD software. According to the company's website, the system automates and streamlines ballot production and distribution, offering flexible options for on-demand ballot printing needs. Security features include a physical and system access controls, audit logs, encryption, validation and digital signature and system application controls. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Influencer Stacey Tourout Initially Survived Fatal Off-Roading Accident With Fiance Matthew Yeomans
Influencer Stacey Tourout reportedly briefly survived the off-roading accident that took the life of fiancé Matthew Yeomans. Mark Jennings-Bates, a manager of the Kaslo Search and Rescue (SAR) team, told People on Friday, August 15, that Tourout was still conscious when the team arrived at the scene of the incident. Jennings-Bates, however, noted that Tourout suffered a 'severe head injury,' adding that 'she didn't realize quite how injured she was.' She was lifted from the area by helicopter and transferred to an ambulance that took her to a local hospital. Tourout died later that night. Yeomans, meanwhile, had been ejected from the vehicle during the crash. Jennings-Bates confirmed to People that Yeomans had 'no vital signs' when the rescue team found his body. Influencers Stacey Tourout, Matthew Yeomans Rolled 'Many Times' Before Fatal Off-Roading Accident Jennings-Bates called the area where the YouTube couple crashed a 'backcountry trail' with 'pretty rough' terrain. He noted that the vehicle fell roughly 200 meters (around 656 feet) down a 'steep boulder field.' Tourout allegedly remained in the vehicle until it came to a stop. 'From what I understand, it's one of the few patches of the road that doesn't have a forest on the side,' Jennings-Bates told the outlet. 'So anywhere else, they would've been caught by the trees — they would've maybe gotten a bit hurt. But this is the one area where they were gonna go for a big ride if they did go off the side road.' The couple's family announced their deaths on August 11, sharing a photo of Tourout and Yeomans smiling while standing in front of a mountain. 'With unimaginable heartache, the families of Matthew Peter Yeomans and Stacey Tourout would like to advise that we lost them both tragically succumbing to injuries in an offroad accident on Aug 7, 2025 in the beautiful mountains of British Columbia that they loved so much,' the statement shared via Facebook read. Influencer Couple Stacey Tourout and Matthew Yeomans Dead After Off-Roading Accident The message continued, 'Please keep us and them in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this devastating end to an amazing Love Story. They are together forever as we knew they would always be.' The deaths of the pair, who ran the YouTube channel Toyota World Runners, was confirmed by Kaslo SAR. The team claimed that rescuers were called to the scene for an off-road motor vehicle accident on August 7 around 7:30 local time. "So it was on a forestry road, somewhere in the mountains, and quite a long ways north in the valley up towards ... the village of Trout Lake,' Jennings-Bates told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), noting that rescuers had an accurate location for the incident. Jennings-Bates continued, "Our teams were able to get to them efficiently. It's a long journey, but they got there efficiently. So that was very, very helpful. And of course that means that the helicopter pilot could also fly straight to the destination with confidence that he was going to find them."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Authorities tracking down reckless e-bike riders causing chaos in Birkdale Village
A group of young, reckless drivers is causing concerns for authorities and business owners in Birkdale Village. Police said they are trying to track down a few reckless e-bike riders who they say are juveniles. One young rider told Channel 9's Dave Faherty that his bike can reach speeds in excess of 50 miles an hour. And local parents say these bikes can be dangerous. READ: CMPD cracks down on reckless bike groups accused of multiple crimes around uptown Mark Gossett said he is packing his daughter's bicycle for college, but it is the e-bike traffic in his neighborhood that is getting a lot of attention. 'Run up and down the street,' he said. 'Fly through the stop sign. I've seen them leave Birkdale Village and go up and down 73.' Huntersville Police posted several photos on Facebook of what they believe to be several juveniles traveling too fast for foot traffic in the village that attracts thousands of visitors each day. 'I think more of the concern is there are multiple of them and you can't even get by sometimes,' one neighbor, Ellie Kwasniewicz, said. Cornelius's PEDEGO Electric Bike store has bikes for sale out front. Its owner, Shawn Gantkowski, told Faherty that bikes going over 28 miles per hour are no longer classified as e-bikes and require a license and insurance, even if they are equipped with pedals. 'There needs to be enforcement,' Gantkowski said. 'The parents need to be aware that it takes a split second for someone's life to be changed upside down.' Kiki Daniels said she loves riding e-bikes on trails, but it's important for parents to be involved. 'With any equipment like this, whether it's a scooter or a bike... safety is number one,' she said. Police told Faherty that they would like to meet with the parents and these young people involved to make sure everyone in the area stays safe. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found e-bike injuries more than doubled every year, going from 751 in 207 to 23,493 in 2022. WATCH: CMPD cracks down on reckless bike groups accused of multiple crimes around uptown Solve the daily Crossword
