CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department suspended one of its own in the days after WCNC Charlotte questioned why some police logged off their radios before and as a gunman killed four officers, public records show.
Suspended pending Civil Service Board review
CMPD won't reveal why the agency took action against that patrol officer. A spokesperson said, by statute, the department can't release certain details about personnel matters, calling that "confidential and not a matter of public record."
"From his file, it appears that the officer has been suspended pending the civil service review," CMPD Director of Public Affairs Sandy D'Elosua Vastola said in an email to WCNC Charlotte. "We don't have anything further to share at this time."
As of Thursday afternoon, the Civil Service Board had yet to set a hearing date for the officer, according to the city clerk.
In the aftermath of the deadly east Charlotte shootout on April 29, multiple officers shared concerns with WCNC Charlotte about a small number of their colleagues who were seemingly unavailable to respond that afternoon. WCNC Charlotte brought questions to CMPD on behalf of the hundreds of on- and off-duty police who responded to the Galway Drive shooting. In response, the agency dismissed their concerns and called WCNC Charlotte's reporting "irresponsible" and "a slam job."
Since May, WCNC Charlotte has repeatedly requested information about two officers in particular. An internal email sent to Vastola on May 29, recently obtained through a public records request, confirmed both officers were among those who logged off the radio on April 29. Upon sharing that revelation with the department, the spokesperson, citing state law, told WCNC Charlotte CMPD should not have released portions of that email.
"I would respectfully request that you do not publish that portion of the email as it was sent to you in error from our Public Records Department," Vastola said. "Specifically, the (logoff) sentence is protected personnel information."
First desk duty, now suspension
A month-and-a-half before CMPD suspended the one officer, WCNC Charlotte filmed him working desk duty in June. That change to his employment lasted for weeks, but despite WCNC Charlotte's repeated questions, the department never reflected the temporary work assignment in the publicly releasable portions of his personnel file.
When asked, the department spokesperson said North Carolina public records law does not allow agencies to release public information about "current" work assignments or work schedules.
The officer's work status officially changed to suspended on July 31, according to his file. The suspension came just days after WCNC Charlotte aired its investigation and followed a Facebook post by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police criticizing the department's response to WCNC Charlotte's reporting.
"Now we know now several weeks later that this was 100% true; that your facts were 100% correct," FOP President Daniel Redford told WCNC Charlotte. "There's validity to what you were asking about. We know for 100% certainty that an officer has been punished for logging off. Granted, there may be some other things behind it, but (that) was one of them. It goes to show that your 'irresponsible' 'slam job' article that you wrote wasn't irresponsible on your part."
Even as a former FBI agent and a retired FBI assistant director called for more openness in the wake of the deadliest day for law enforcement in Charlotte history, CMPD's spokesperson "strongly" cautioned WCNC Charlotte from moving forward with a story, noting the sensitive nature of the day's events.
"Officers were not happy"
Ultimately, the department refused "to speculate" about why some officers were seemingly unavailable.
"It's not that they logged off. It's what their logging off represents as far as the response from the department," Redford said. "As tragic as it is, I don't want to see people using it as an excuse to forgo answering questions, because it might not fit a certain criteria of what they want their agency to look like."
Redford said the department's dismissive response prompted the FOP to take a public stand against the spokesperson's handling of this situation.
"The department should not be the one to determine what news stories they decide they want to answer questions on," Redford said. "It is a valid concern that we also heard. Officers were not happy. It is important to know that while this was going on that we had people who were for no other better word than to say a coward, because the community deserves better. Because, what if it's them next time being shot at?"
Records show it also took CMPD several weeks to update the other officer's file. The department officially listed his transfer to a different division in June, labeling it a reassignment.
"Given the nature of the circumstances that day, we understand the interest in officer response to that incident," Vastola added. "However, we must always balance transparency and public records laws with the confidentiality required by personnel laws. I hope you can understand this situation we face."
Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks, Task Force Officers Alden Elliot and Sam Poloche and CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer died at the hands of a gunman on the afternoon of April 29. Several other officers suffered injuries. A federal task force was attempting to serve a warrant on the fugitive at the time of the ambush.
CMPD Deputy Chief Tonya Arrington previously explained to WCNC Charlotte, when fellow officers are under attack, generally, "We're all going."
Contact Nate Morabito at nmorabito@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.