CMPD Chief "Backwards Johnny" Agrees to Exit

Yesterday Michael Graff who is older than most the dirt around Charlotte and a fairly well known freelance writer posted his spin on his newly created The Charlotte Optimist. 

The CMPD Chief apparently wanted a sympathetic voice to "clear the air" giving the exclusive interview to Graff.

First the "presser" gives Jennings departure date as January 1, 2026.

And it turns out the total package Charlotte City Council agreed to pay off CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings rumored to be between $100,000 and perhaps as high as $300K is actually $305,000.

The Chief's shake down of Charlotte Taxpayers started back in November and by April it was secretly agreed to with nearly one half of Charlotte City Council absent.

But the leaked information started public outrage that was quick and fiery. 

"Backwards Johnny" has now labeled the payoff a "separation agreement" rather than a settlement.

Basically here is his payoff:

$25,000 for costs he incurred in the dispute, including legal counsel.

A 5 percent merit increase for 2025, retroactive to January 1, totaling $14,017. 

An additional 40 vacation days, valued at $45,284, to use at his discretion. If he doesn’t use them by January 1, he’ll be paid for them.

A retention bonus of $45,699, paid in two installments, to stay through the end of the year while the city searches for his replacement.

Severance of $175,000, to be paid in January 2026.

The complete agreement is here.

And the addendum that allows the release of the above agreement is here.

The rest of the story:

Turns out the chief was really "butt hurt" over the "outer carry vests" issue and he still thinks most officers don't like the idea.

His opposition to the vests folded last April after the deaths of our four law enforcement officers Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Joshua Eyer, and North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections officers Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott all died during an ambush attack in which the shooter was also killed.

Says Graff: 

When Jennings took the job in 2020, he continued a long-running department rule that restricted patrol officers from wearing outer vest carriers, or ballistic vests over the uniform, unless they had a medical exemption. The three previous police chiefs all had it in place, too. They believed the vests didn’t align with community-oriented policing philosophies, which attempt to bridge gaps between officers and the people they serve. Jennings had made “customer service” central to his administration, and he kept the uniform policy.

“That’s not the look that I want for our police department,” Jennings told me.

Bokhari, who represented south Charlotte until April, and the local Fraternal Order of Police believed all officers should have the option to wear them. This wasn’t a new position for them, either: Bokhari had been advocating for the vests for more than two years. He often cited research that showed the vests improved officer comfort, and conversations with officers who said they wanted the vests. 

Jennings maintains that many officers didn’t want the vests, and that the loudest people don’t always represent the majority.

But Jennings complaint is more than just about the vests. He cites vocal opposition to his policies and management style and tells Graff:

“The push for me to be fired,” Jennings said. “The push for the city manager to be fired, the push for the petition for people to go online and sign for my termination or forcing the manager to fire me.”

The original story posted by Michael Graff is here. 

Cedar's Take:

But the reality is this entire adventure was clearly a money grab, a legal version of Tiawanna Brown's raid on the SBA. Jennings had apparently already secured a job in the private sector and turned his spat with Borkai into a way to fleece Charlotte Taxpayers with a final FU on his way out the door.

Panic will now settle in at CMPD as not only has the rudderless ship been confirmed but the department is seriously void of any real leadership. Which means the city manager who is also on the likely to make a departure list and the city council which is obviously going to undergo some serious change come November will have to deal with this unmitigated disaster right off the bat.

Like I've been saying you can not make this up.

Charlotte's attempt to hire from outside the department was a disaster. Rodney Monroe by many accounts was an epic fool (See Golf Cart), a cheat See (Education) and a liar (See Jonathan Ferrell).

So the next move was to promote from within enter Putney and Jennings. But Jennings simply promoted the DEI hires and that will leave the department a mess.

Yes he'll claim his leadership, reduced the man power shortage. But his has no clue as the the low level of morale or the coming exits. Additionally Charlotte has far fewer officers than it should have.

I've used Boston a city I worked in for on and off for 25 years as an example:

Boston:

Population 650,238

Square Miles 89

Number of Officers 2,144

Homicides 2024: 24

Charlotte:

Population 923,164

Square Miles 310

Number of Officers 1,587

Homicides 2024: 111

In Boston you can not turn a corner and not see a cop. They are everywhere. They protect street and utility crews whenever they need to block the road. Traffic law compliance is exceptional. 

You can walk across the Boston Common after dark and run the Charles River before sunrise and not have to deal with, muggers, homeless or prevents.

In Charlotte while "Backwards Johnny" is getting a nice goodbye package rooks struggle to cover basic costs of living in the Queen City. Even five year Officers need to load up on secondary if they have kids. But Johnny got his.

Did someone say "pledge fund"?

Come on Charlotte get your act together.