CMPD Holds South Division Forum

CHARLOTTE, NC–“This was excellent. This needs to continue to go on through all the communities,” said South Charlotte Resident, Charles Breitbart.

Concerned citizens from across South Charlotte came to ask Chief Putney questions bothering them since the violence following the Keith Scott shooting.

“Do they have any strategies in place to counter some of the social media that basically hijacked the truth and the facts?” asked Patty Reuss Carpenter.

“I just wanted to know do all the officers now have body cameras and where they were in terms that all the officers have body cameras,” said Janice Robinson.

Chief Putney confirmed all patrol officers have body cameras and CMPD is working to get them for off-duty officers. Putney and other CMPD leaders told the crowd they there have been 12 officers involved shootings this year.

All of the suspects did not comply, so they have a main message to the community.

“We can stop a lot of the tragic events that happened the first one is for people to comply communicate so we can de escalate,” said CMPD Deputy Chief Jeff Estes.

Others asked for a better system to get immediate information from police to their neighborhoods.

“This is my city too and I was horrified when I saw uptown and the rumors they were going to come to South charlotte and other areas of the city, we’re better than this,” said Carpenter.