Former Raleigh police chief to become first female chief in Charlotte

Jeff A. Chamer, The Charlotte Observer on Oct 31, 2025

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones has hired Estella Patterson, the former chief of the Raleigh Police Department, to take over as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief.

Jones’ decision was announced by the CMPD account on social media site X.

“The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and @CLTgov proudly announce the next police chief, Estella Patterson,” the post said.

“Patterson, who was formerly the Chief of Police at the Raleigh Police Department and started her career in law enforcement with CMPD, is the first female police chief in Charlotte’s history.

“Patterson joined CMPD in 1996 where she was the president of her recruiting class. In her 25 years with CMPD, she held a variety of positions and ranks throughout the department. Patterson started her career as a patrol officer before spending time at the academy in both Recruiting and Training. She also served in Internal Affairs before being promoted to Deputy Chief where she led the Administrative Services group followed by the Patrol Services group.”

Career of outgoing chief

Jennings has kept a low profile following a scandal earlier this year in which the City Council, in secret, agreed to pay him $305,000 after he threatened to sue the city because he was upset that a member of the City Council had led calls for him to resign. His annual salary is $280,334.

Jennings, a Tennessee native, was sworn in as chief on July 1, 2020. He first started at CMPD in 1992, climbing up in the agency before being promoted to deputy chief in 2016.

Four years later, Jennings was sworn in as chief as the country was experiencing nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.

Jennings grabbed headlines when he was photographed kneeling alongside protesters in Charlotte, with his fist raised in the air. Jennings said it was in solidarity with the protesters, which was controversial with some officers.

He would go on to oversee the department through high profile events that included the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on Aug. 22, as well as the shooting of eight officers and deaths of four of them in east Charlotte last year. The April 29 shooting at Galway Drive was the deadliest day for police in North Carolina’s history.

During his tenure, CMPD, like other departments in the U.S., has struggled to recruit and retain police, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Crime has fallen overall since Jennings became chief.

As chief, Jennings changed policies in an effort to rebuild trust in the community between officers and residents. Jennings had said he wanted officers to have a Chick-fil-A style approach to customer service.

CMPD has said the 2021 trainings led to a 24% decrease in use of force incidents, a 61% decrease in external complaints, a 39% decrease in internal complaints and a 43% decline in police shooting people.

Jennings also tried to prevent officers from wearing a vest known as an “outer carrier” vest because he didn’t approve of their militarized look said those vests didn’t add additional protection. But following pressure from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police and former District 6 City Council member Tariq Bokhari, Jennings reversed course in August 2024. Officers were allowed to request them.

During the controversy, Jennings and Bokhari exchanged text messages about the vests in which Bokhari threatened to “cripple” Jennings’s legacy.

Jennings would go on to threaten to file a lawsuit against the city, alleging Bokhari made Jennings feel “he was unfairly targeted and suffered reputational damage.”

Instead, Jennings opted to sign the payout agreement with the city in a closed session, resulting in a $305,000 “separation agreement.” For weeks, Jennings and city leaders refused to disclose the dollar amount.

Jennings will retire from CMPD on Jan. 1, 2026.

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