Local police group to hold vote of no confidence on Charlotte police chief

Nora O’Neill, The Charlotte Observer on May 9, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police will hold a vote of no confidence against Police Chief Johnny Jennings following reports of a settlement between Jennings and the city and allegations of unethical conduct at city hall.

The organization posted on Facebook Friday that a preliminary vote of no confidence will conclude Wednesday.

The vote follows news that the city council voted to settle with Jennings after a dispute he had with former council member Tariq Bokhari. Since then, council member Victoria Watlington and Tariq Bokhari’s wife, Krista Bokhari, have alleged unethical and potentially illegal conduct within city government.

Neither of them has provided direct evidence.

The FOP is a national fraternal organization representing law enforcement officers with more than 377,000 members. The more-than 2,000 members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg FOP were sent a survey on Thursday in which they were asked to explain their opinion of Jennings.

The Facebook post stated FOP members would not speak to members of the press while the vote and survey were ongoing. The Charlotte Observer reached out to CMPD via email for comment.

Charlotte City Council members on May 6 determined a vote to settle with Jennings had actually passed a week prior when one member’s unexcused absence counted as an affirmative vote. The vote was previously thought to have failed.

The settlement follows disagreements between Jennings and Tariq Bokhari regarding the use of a specific bulletproof vest by CMPD officers.

While Jennings did not support the use of the “outer carrier” vest, Tariq Bokhari publicly campaigned for their use on social media and a personal website. WFAE reported Tariq Bokhari sent text messages to Jennings over the disagreement threatening to damage his reputation and push for his resignation.

While the city dismissed a complaint filed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP President Corine Mack over Bokhari’s actions, city council members still voted to approve a settlement without a lawsuit filed against the city.

Krista Bokhari alleged on Facebook Thursday that city leaders including Mayor Vi Lyles, City Manager Marcus Jones and Interim City Attorney Anthony Fox intentionally withheld information about the thrown-out complaint from other council members and pressed to approve the settlement without any new information. The Observer has offered city officials a chance to respond to that allegation.

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