CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mecklenburg police officers pushed for more pay, just hours after an NBC Charlotte Defenders investigation revealed a startling reality about 911 calls.
The Defenders team found hundreds of cases where there were no officers immediately available to respond to 911 calls. In fact, there were times when it took anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours for police to arrive to some of the most urgent calls.
The department believes hiring more officers would help with the issue.
Police sources tell WCNC a lot of people at CMPD are talking about the Defenders investigation. Police staffing is not a new issue, but NBC Charlotte highlighted one of the major impacts for the first time.
The Defenders team obtained audio from Broadcastify of dispatchers relaying a troubling message during a 911 call.
“I’m showing no units available city-wide,” a dispatcher said during one call.
It’s just a few words relayed by the dispatcher, but it answers a key question for some victims of crime in the Queen City. The Defenders investigation found 600 911 calls within a three week period, in which no officers were immediately available to respond to calls.
NBC Charlotte talked to an 18 year-old victim, who asked his face not be shown. He says he was targeted by someone in another car while he was driving.
“Just hearing that someone is threatening to shoot me, you would think there would be officers there as quickly as possible,” the victim said. “I'm thinking, ‘Where are the police? Where are the police?’ The entire time.”
Police records show officers did not arrive until 20 minutes later. That’s despite the fact that it was classified as a Priority 1 call, the highest level of emergency.
Just days later, there was another Priority 1 call for domestic violence. That incident took police two hours to arrive on scene. CMPD’s goal for a Priority 1 call is a seven minute response.
Just hours after the NBC Charlotte Defenders story aired, several CMPD officers brought the issue of police staffing to the city council meeting.
“It’s only going to get worse if you follow the same trend,” CMPD officer Daniel Redford told the city council.
Officer Redford said police pay raises last year have been insufficient.
According to CMPD, the city council approved a 6.5 percent raise. However, Officer Redford told the council many officers only received a 2.5 percent increase.
“So far this year, several [officers] have already left, and we know of 78 who will retire this year,” Officer Redford said.
Now, Officer Redford is asking the city council to improve benefits and boost pay for all officers.
“Do it so you fix the pay disparities and not create new ones like you did last year,” Officer Redford said.
The 18 year-old victim says he wonders what would have happened if officers responded quicker when he reported someone threatened him.
“They probably could have caught him,” he told NBC Charlotte.
A CMPD spokesman told NBC Charlotte the department has been pushing to recruit more officers through a robust marketing campaign.