Mayor Lyles apologizes to CMPD chief amid city settlement

CHARLOTTE — For the first time, Mayor Vi Lyles publicly said sorry on Wednesday to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings for comments made by former Charlotte City Councilman Tariq Bokhari in Bokhari’s quest to secure outer carrier vests for officers.

“The chief was publicly attacked by a former councilmember who stated his intent was to damage his reputation and end his career,” Lyles said. “I owe the chief an apology for not publicly supporting him there.”

As Channel 9 reported, those comments and the debate over outer carrier vests led to a secret vote to settle with the chief who was threatening legal action.

The city attorney defended those talks happening behind closed doors.

“{The city} is obligated to comply with the personnel privacy statute that maintains the confidentiality of the information in the personnel file,” Interim City Attorney Anthony Fox said.

While councilmembers maintained their silence on the closed session proceedings, they were not shy about talking about an email from Councilmember Victoria Watlington sent Tuesday night.

“I’m extremely concerned with the level of unethical, immoral, and frankly, illegal activities occurring within city government,” the email said. “I have seen enough. Over the last five and a half years, I have witnessed the brazen disregard for dissenting opinions and the rule of law. Never, however, have I seen such an egregious example as what has occurred in the last week. It is time for a change.”

Councilman Ed Driggs criticized Watlington for the remarks.

“It saddens me that a member of council would use scaremongering tactics like this to draw attention to herself,” he said. “I’m not aware of any foundation for councilmember Watlington’s allegations.”

Councilman Malcolm Graham called on Watlington to produce evidence that something they’ve done is improper

“Words like unethical, immoral, illegal activities, disregard for the sitting opinions of rule law, they matter a lot,” he said. “They echo outside the building.”

Councilmembers and Lyles called on Watlington to produce evidence. Fox said he is prepared to investigate anything she brings forward.

Reached by phone, Watlington told Channel 9 Government Reporter Joe Bruno that she was not alleging economic corruption. She said that she was referring to people taking actions that are not within their authority. She says there needs to be an overhaul of how the city conducts business.

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Graham also called on Fox to investigate the source of the leaks about the closed session. Fox said if that is something the council desires, he will likely hire outside counsel. Fox declined to reveal the amount of money being provided to Jennings as part of the settlement. He also did not commit to releasing it, but said he will comply with the law.

A spokesperson for Jennings says the chief watched the press conference and appreciated the support from the mayor and council.

Read the controversial text messages at the heart of CMPD chief settlement (Video below)

Controversial text messages at the heart of CMPD chief settlement

Lyles is apologizing to Jennings over how he was treated last summer during the debate over whether CMPD officers should be able to wear outer carrier vests. Bokhari launched a public and intensive campaign to raise money and garner community support for the vests after Chief Jennings said he opposed them.

That campaign and the text messages he sent to Jennings led to a settlement for the chief from Charlotte taxpayers. It was approved by the Charlotte City Council in closed session. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

WFAE was the first to obtain and report on these messages last fall.

In light of the Charlotte City Council’s controversial settlement, Channel 9 also requested the records that were produced. The city of Charlotte released them Wednesday morning.

The day before the first message was sent, Jennings and Bokhari met, and there was an impasse on this issue.

The contentious messages started the morning of the budget straw votes on May 30.

Bokhari texted Jennings:

“I just want to reiterate. Whatever happens from this point forward is not personal.”

Jennings responded:

“That can be a fine line. As long as you stick to that, we’re fine. Just know that I don’t plan on sitting on my hands either. Hopefully, you will reconsider this and let me make the decisions for my agency.”

Bokhari replied:

“I love you dearly as a friend, and always will, but we are locked in on this path now. I hate this so much but tried everything I could think of to make another path. I’ll pray for you and the dept.”

Jennings then said:

“Not sure of your plan, but it sounds like you’re getting ready to get personal. I hope what you are getting ready to do is worth it for you. It’s a shame that you would resort to this because we disagree on the topic. I would never do that to you.”

The last message that day was this one from Bokhari:

“I promise you I am very good at separating personal versus business. But when I call out why something I believe should happen isn’t happening- why it’s stuck- that points to you and I have to call that out. That is NOT personal, though, that’s business. If I said you just don’t care about the morale implications of this decision, that would be personal, which I have no intention of doing.”

Jennings did not respond.

Later that night, Bokhari launched his campaign to get outer carrier vests for officers.

“I am doubling down on my commitment to find the half a million dollar one time investment from other sources in the city budget and will be applying maximum pressure to enable our rank and file officers to wear them when they are out protecting us,” Councilman Bokhari said in May 30th budget meeting.

Bokhari would go on to launch a website and petition about the issue. It was updated throughout the summer.

On June 14, CMPD released a statement from Jennings explaining his position on the outer carrier vests.

“The outer vest has a military-style appearance that contradicts the community-oriented policing philosophy I have championed for years,” he said.

Bokhari texted Jennings a couple of weeks later on July 6. This was their first message since Bokhari’s campaign. He said: “You’ve made a terrible error in judgment, my friend. I hate what comes next.”

Jennings didn’t respond, but an hour later, Bokhari sent him this message: “As your friend, I want you to know what happens next: I’ll be demanding your resignation starting Monday. I’ll be hammering you from the press, the private sector, the foundations, the General Assembly, Congress, and several high-profile national organizations. I’ll put maximum pressure on the city manager to fire you from all those angles as well. I may not ultimately win - but I will not stop and it will cripple your legacy you’ve worked so hard for. Just a final bit of food for thought. You have 36 hours to call it all off by compromising in some small way. Otherwise, it’s in God’s hands. I want you to know I still have a lot of love for you as a friend. But this is much more important than any of that. I’ve given you several weeks while I’ve been restrained going only 10%. That’s all over starting Monday morning unless you start seeing the light and being reasonable to find middle ground for the rank and file, you have a sacred responsibility to support. As I said- I may not win - but I was blessed with a set of skills that I can promise you will be very uncomfortable to experience. This will be my last communication.”

Jennings didn’t respond.

Bokhari’s petition gathered thousands of signatures and on the Aug. 1, the chief changed his tune.

CMPD HR sent an email saying all officers now have the option to wear outer carrier vests as a preventive health measure.

The move was celebrated by Bokhari and the Fraternal Order of Police, which supported the former councilman’s efforts.

Bokhari sent one more message on Aug. 5.

“Thank you for allowing more access to vests. I know this was a difficult decision but it means a lot.”

Jennings gave a thumbs-up to the message.