City introduces Estella Patterson as new CMPD chief

CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department formally introduced its new chief Monday.

The city announced that Estella Patterson will be taking over for Chief Johnny Jennings Friday, making her the first woman to hold the position in the city’s history.

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Patterson, who goes by Stella, previously served as the Raleigh Police Chief before retiring earlier this year. She led that department for three-and-a-half years. Before that, she spent 25 years at CMPD, joining in 1996 as the class president of her recruiting class. She’s also a veteran and a UNC-Charlotte graduate.

During her tenure in Raleigh, overall crime fell, and she advocated for a 15% pay increase for officers.

In her new role, Patterson said she will also focus on holding criminals accountable.

“My top priorities lie in reducing violent crime and disorder and addressing the perception of crime that is often magnified with every violent accident that touches our community,” she said during her introductory press conference at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.

Patterson went on to say she is prioritizing morale within the department and collaborating with the community.

“My No. 1 priority will be to look inwardly within the department, to increase the morale and the wellness, because when our employees are whole, they can better serve the whole community,” Patterson said.

She will also look to boost recruitment in hopes of bringing the number of officer vacancies to zero.

Patterson talked about working with the community.

“I believe in being community centric, where we’re bringing everybody into the fold to help with the crime problem. It is not just a police problem, but it’s a everybody, every citizen’s problem,” she said.

The Rev. Corrine Mack, president of the local NAACP, said she trusts Patterson will stick to that strategy.

“When she went to Raleigh, specifically, she brought the committees in, the community in and conversed with them in a way most police officers do not,” Mack said.

The local Fraternal Order of Police is supporting this hire. The FOP said Chief Patterson’s name was repeatedly mentioned in a survey as someone members wanted as CMPD’s next police chief.

She will be sworn in as chief next month.

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