
一名警官在八月因另一项调查而辞职。北卡罗来纳州夏洛特-梅克伦堡警察局(CMPD)的一名发言人周一向ABC新闻证实,五名因涉嫌分享种族主义短信而正接受调查的警察已辞职。
A sixth officer resigned in August amid a separate investigation. Five police officers under investigation for allegedly sharing racist text messages have resigned from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) in North Carolina, a police spokesperson confirmed to ABC News on Monday.
该发言人称,第六名涉嫌卷入此事的警官在八月因另一项调查而辞职,而第七名警官目前仍在等待公务员委员会审查期间被停职且不发工资。
A sixth officer allegedly involved in this matter resigned in August amid a separate probe, while a seventh officer remains suspended without pay pending a Civil Service Board review, the spokesperson said.
CMPD警长埃斯特拉·帕特森在周四的新闻发布会上宣布了前三名警官的辞职。此后,又有两名警官辞职。
The resignation of the first three officers was announced on Thursday by CMPD Police Chief Estella Patterson during a press conference. Since then, two additional officers have resigned.
帕特森在周四的新闻发布会上说:“针对他们的指控非常严重。”她还说:“这令人深感不安。坦率地说,我很失望我们今天竟然还不得不谈论此事。”据夏洛特的ABC附属台WSCO报道,这些包含种族歧视性语言的短信是在对前CMPD警官塞思·埃利奥特涉嫌滥用Flock摄像头的调查中被发现的。目前尚不清楚埃利奥特是否在Flock摄像头案件中已作出答辩。
"The allegations against them are serious," Patterson said at Thursday's news conference. "They're deeply troubling. And frankly, I'm disappointed that we're even having to talk about this today." The messages, which contained racial slurs, were found during an investigation into alleged Flock camera misuse by former CMPD officer Seth Elliot, according to ABC affiliate in Charlotte, WSCO. It is unclear if Elliot has entered a plea in the Flock camera case.
CMPD在周一的新闻稿中公布了正接受调查的七名警官的姓名,并确认埃利奥特——他在八月辞去了CMPD的职务——是涉嫌卷入此事的第七名警官。
CMPD released the names of a total of seven officers being investigated in a press release on Monday and confirmed that Elliot, who resigned from CMPD in August, is the seventh officer allegedly involved in this matter.
埃利奥特的辩护律师乔治·V·劳弗伦二世(George V. Laughrun II)未立即回应ABC新闻的置评请求。
Elliot's defense attorney, George V. Laughrun II, didn't immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
其余五名警官在辞职前于10月9日均被停职且不发工资,他们分别是马特奥·胡亚雷斯、约瑟夫·凯利、亚历山大·拉森、特雷丹·马罗尼克和马修·奥斯本。第六名警官杰雷米亚·托德曼目前仍在等待进一步调查期间被停职且不发工资,警方称。
The five other officers, who were all suspected without pay on Oct. 9 before resigning, were identified as Mateo Juarez, Joseph Kelly, Alexander Larsen, Tredan Maronic and Matthew Osborn. The sixth, Jeremiah Todman, remains suspended without pay pending further investigation, police said.
目前尚不清楚其他五名前警官在此案中是否已聘请律师。他们均未立即回应ABC新闻的置评请求,托德曼也没有回应。
It's unclear if the other five former officers have retained attorneys in this case. None of them immediately responded to ABC News' requests for comment, nor did Todman.
夏洛特-梅克伦堡警察兄弟会第9号分会(代表夏洛特-梅克伦堡警察局警员的工会)未能立即回应ABC新闻的置评请求。
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9, the union that represents CMPD officers, didn't immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
在发布警员姓名的声明中,夏洛特-梅克伦堡警察局强调了“透明度和公众获取信息的重要性,以维持公众信任”。声明写道:“部门仍致力于问责,并依法提供公共记录的访问权限,同时尊重任何正在进行的调查和潜在法律程序的完整性。”
In a statement releasing the officer's names, CMPD highlighted "the importance of transparency and public access to information in maintaining public trust." "The department remains committed to accountability and providing access to public records in accordance with the law, while respecting the integrity of any ongoing investigations and potential legal proceedings," it wrote.
帕特森周四表示,在发现这些短信后,部门对警员的行为展开了调查,并已请求联邦机构协助审查“民权侵犯的可能性”。她说:“我们立即对他们的执法记录仪影像进行了审计,审查了他们的交通拦截情况、交通拦截数据,查看了他们的逮捕记录,并检查这些警员是否存在外部投诉。”她补充道:“截至目前,我们尚未发现任何此方面的证据,但我已要求我们的联邦合作伙伴审查民权侵犯的可能性。”
Patterson said on Thursday that, after discovering the text messages, the department launched an investigation into the officers actions and has requested assistance from federal agencies to examine the "possibility of civil rights violations." "We immediately conducted audits of their body worn footage, we reviewed their traffic stops, their traffic stop datas, we looked at their arrest records, and we looked to see if any of those officers had external complaints," she said. "As of this point, we have not found any evidence of this, but I have asked our federal partners to look at the possibility of civil rights violations."

帕特森还表示,如果调查认定警员存在不当行为,她的部门将寻求吊销涉案警员的北卡罗来纳州执法证书,使他们无法在全州任何地方担任警员。她还补充道:“我也希望他们不会在全国任何地方担任警员。”
Patterson also said that, if the investigation determines wrongdoing by the officers, her department will seek to revoke the North Carolina law enforcement certificates of the officers involved in this case so that they cannot be an officer anywhere in our state. "And I hope that they will not be an officer anywhere in this country," she added.