CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles is voicing her support for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings amid reports that he may sue the city council.
Last week, Jennings announced that he was considering suing the city.
Sources said he felt unfairly targeted and suffered reputational damage.
This came after a dispute last year with former Charlotte City Councilman Tariq Bokhari over CMPD officers wearing protective vests.
Sources told Channel 9 that city council members voted 5-2 to settle in closed session last week. However, it takes six votes.
It was understood that Mayor Lyles would call for another vote during that closed session.
But as Lyles and other council members were exiting the meeting, they declined to disclose what was discussed, citing attorney-client privilege.
A short while later, the mayor stated:
“When we were talking about the fallen heroes, when we had the stadium climb. I had the opportunity to stand up and say, ‘Chief Jennings is the best chief that I know.’ And should people be concerned about the relationship between him and the city council after talk of a settlement, I can’t address what people are thinking about. I know what I think about, and I know that I stand with the chief.”
However, Chief Jennings has not filed a lawsuit yet.
Sources also said that if the city attorney has already been notified of the police chief’s claims and intentions, if the city council were to go ahead and vote to settle, the matter would be resolved quicker and more privately.
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