Civil rights leaders pushing to strip six Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers of their law enforcement certifications singled out Union County as a place the officers could land.

Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP, made the comment to WSOC-TV after three of the six officers resigned and an independent board unanimously recommended termination for the remaining three, a decision Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Chief Estella Patterson said she supports.

"We don't want anyone to leave Charlotte and go to Union County or go to Gaston County or go to any other county and do the same kind of foolery," Mack said.

The scandal centers on a group text thread among six CMPD officers that contained racist and sexist messages. Sources who spoke anonymously to WBTV described the thread as including a competition over who could pull over the most Black drivers. The thread also included repeated use of the N-word in discussions about use of force.

All six officers were from the same 2024 graduating class, according to The NC Beat.

The texts were discovered when the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) was probing CMPD officer Seth Elliott for alleged misuse of the Flock surveillance network, WBTV reported. Phone data from that probe was turned over to CMPD, which launched its own internal affairs investigation.

Patterson called the situation "deeply troubling" during an Oct. 15 briefing. An independent chain-of-command board unanimously recommended termination for the three officers who had not resigned. Charlotte's Civil Service Board holds sole authority to fire sworn officers and will review the department's requests.

Patterson said CMPD will pursue revocation of the officers' North Carolina law enforcement certifications through the N.C. Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission. She also asked federal partners, including the U.S. Department of Justice, to review the matter for possible civil rights violations.

U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson told WBTV his office is looking into a possible civil rights investigation but cautioned that the legal standard is high.

The Union County Sheriff's Office, which provides law enforcement for Weddington, Marvin and Wesley Chapel, has not publicly commented on whether it screens for officers who leave other departments under disciplinary action. The agency has not commented.

Mack and other advocates want the officers' names released publicly and their certifications revoked statewide.

Former Civil Service Board members told WSOC-TV that hiring pressures at CMPD created friction over screening standards. Ryan McGill, who chaired the board from 2021 to 2023, said members pushed back against department leadership. Tom Baldwin, who served on the board from 2016 to 2024, said disagreements over applicant qualifications led to conflict.

Dismissal hearings for the remaining three officers are expected in 2027. The Civil Service Board will make the final decision on their termination.