As Charlotte's new police chief for less than a month, Rodney Monroe has been a busy man.

He's visited crime scenes trying to get a first hand look at incidents going down in the Queen City. He does this, he says, not simply because he is the new chief, but so he can see what's working on the streets and make informed decisions when the time comes.

"That's how I operate," says Monroe.

And how he operates is sure to be tested thoroughly at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Monroe, 51, has been in law enforcement for more than 30 years and came to North Carolina after leading the Richmond, Va. Police Department. Under his leadership, crime in that city reached its lowest point in 26 years, according to a statement from the Richmond city administrator's office. But here in Charlotte, he faces a number of citizens who have much to complain about when it comes to the boys in blue.

Many in the African-American community are outraged by the recent shooting of a black man by a police officer. Middle class residents living in places like Plaza Midwood are also pissed that neighborhood crime keeps rising. And then there was the arrest of two former CMPD officers, accused of helping a purported drug dealer -- and those are among various other incidents that have tarnished the image of law enforcement in the city.

"Coming into CMPD, facing some of those scenarios is not shocking or surprising to me," Monroe says. "I think people's interest and concern in crime doesn't change. People want to be safe. So that doesn't surprise me that there's so much concern about crime. People want to be treated fairly and they want to hold police to the highest level of accountability when it comes to use of force."

Use of force in Charlotte has been highlighted within the last year due to a number of police shootings and one in-custody death. In the majority of these cases, the officers in question never faced any charges.

This year alone, police have been involved in four nonfatal shootings, which are being investigated by the department:

• February 27: Police were serving a warrant with the Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency at 9816 Langston Mill Road in north Charlotte. According to CMPD reports: "Gilberto Rivas, the brother of the primary suspect, fired at officers after they made entry in the house. One officer sustained minor injuries. An officer returned fire, striking Mr. Rivas. He was transported to Carolinas Medical Center where he is being treated for critical injuries."

• March 2: Police responded to a burglary call at the Dollar Tree on South Boulevard. According to police reports: "Officer Matthew Relic, as the first officer on the scene, confronted Dinkins [the suspect] in the parking lot of the business. Dinkins began fighting with the officer, refused to comply with any verbal commands and pulled a handgun from his pocket. Officer Relic then drew and fired his service weapon, striking Dinkins, who was transported to Carolinas Medical Center for treatment."

• April 21: Police were called to a residence on Statesville Road to investigate a suspicious vehicle in the driveway. According to police reports, the driver of the car, Jason Chappell, was armed with a knife, and when officers Rodney Jackson and Lucas Rahal approached him, he attempted to drive away. Jackson was on the passenger side of the vehicle and Rahal went around to the driver's side. Jackson opened the passenger door to retrieve the closed, folded knife Chappell placed on the seat when officers told him to do so. When Jackson was leaning in to retrieve the knife, Chappell started the vehicle, put the car in reverse and immediately accelerated. Jackson was trapped in between the door and the vehicle while the vehicle was in motion. Chappell failed to obey officer's commands to stop and Jackson fired his service weapon once, striking Chappell.

• May 6: Police were called in to back up a Mecklenburg County ABC officer, Frank Lopez, who witnessed a man, Guy Manuel Cabral, drinking beer in a car in the parking lot of the Sam's Mart Shell station at 1920 Central Ave., according to police reports. CMPD officer Jenny Curlee arrived at 6:29 p.m. to assist Officer Lopez and positioned herself on the driver's side of the vehicle. Both officers gave verbal commands for Brian Jarod Howie to remove the keys from the ignition. Howie refused to comply with the verbal commands from either officer. Officer Lopez pulled his Taser and continued to request the driver to remove the keys from the ignition and to follow his directions. Curlee pulled her service pistol when Howie reached to his right side near the console area. Curlee fired her service pistol while Lopez fired his Taser at Howie who sustained a single gunshot wound to the arm and chest.

(Update:  On July 16, CMPD released an update into the investigation of Officer Curlee: “After a thorough review of the evidence, the [Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Chain of Command Review]Board determined that the shooting was not justified.  On July 14, 2008, Officer J.S. Curlee's employment with the Charlotte – Mecklenburg Police Department was terminated,” the police statement reads.
While North Carolina law prohibits the release of the results of the internal review, Police Chief Rodney Monroe is releasing the following information from the Criminal Investigations file. Chief Monroe will continue to release as much information as possible about cases of public interest so long as it does not interfere with an on-going investigation or violate the law.)
 

In 2008, there have been two death investigations involving use of force by police:

• March 22: Police responded to a call for service at the Food Lion at 3024 Prosperity Church Road regarding a disturbance. Police reports say when Officer Jerry Dawson arrived, he witnessed Darryl Wayne Turner assaulting the store manager by throwing an object at him. "Mr. Turner appeared to be in a highly agitated state. He refused all verbal commands and advanced towards the officer. The officer, Jerry Dawson Jr., deployed his Taser to get Mr. Turner under control," the report states. Turner was pronounced dead at Carolina's Medical Center-University and an autopsy later revealed that Turner died from a heart attack. Dawson was not charged by the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's office in Turner's death.

(Update: Police also released an update into the investigation of officer Dawson: “After a thorough review of the evidence, the Board determined that the initial decision to discharge the TASER was within our procedures, but the prolonged use of the TASER was not. Officer Dawson has been suspended for five days and he will receive additional training concerning the use of the TASER. The Department is currently reviewing its policies and procedures concerning the TASER,” the statement reads. )
 

• May 20: In an incident that brought national attention to the city, Aaron Winchester was shot and killed by officer David Jester following a foot chase. Jester was responding to a domestic call and saw Winchester, 21, walking down Sylvania Avenue. As Winchester ran from the officer, he reached into his pants pocket and removed a gun, police said. Jester fired four shots at Winchester, whom police said pointed the gun at the officer. Two shots hit Winchester in the back. Since the shooting, reports have surfaced of conflicting witness statements. Local media outlets have reported that some people on the scene claimed Winchester never pointed a gun at the officer.

Following the shooting of Winchester, the NAACP and the Rev. Al Sharpton held protests and a town meeting in Charlotte. The State Bureau of Investigation was also brought in to examine the shooting.

Incidents such as the death of Winchester, according to community leaders like Dwayne Collins, president of the Black Political Caucus, leave a bad taste in the mouth of Charlotte's African-American community.

Collins says his organization plans to meet with Monroe about use-of-force issues, especially dealing with officers employing deadly force. For Collins, the policy in which officers are able to say that they used force because they felt their life was in danger is too open-ended.

"We want to talk to the chief about implementing some specificity as far as when deadly use of force should be used and shouldn't be used and not just because an officer makes a pronouncement that his or her life was threatened," he says. "That's just a little too vague and ambiguous."

Collins suggests that with more specific guidelines in place about using deadly force, there would be a more comfortable relationship between African-Americans and police in the city, which for the most part is positive.

"The police officer actually shot [Winchester] twice in the back and once again said he felt his life was in danger. I find it hard to believe that anybody's life is in danger, let alone a police officer, when somebody's back is facing you. If they are allegedly running away from you, how in the world could your life be in danger? But overall, I would say the relationship between CMPD and the black community is fairly good, but there is always room for improvement. When you have issues like the Winchester shooting and others that come up, it definitely does not do anything to bolster goodwill between African-Americans and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department," Collins says.

Monroe says when it comes to uses of force, the community is always going to want police to use its best judgment and hold officers to a high standard.

He adds that over the years, people have grown to expect a lot from CMPD and that this department and many others try to deliver what the community needs. Monroe also says that on use of force issues, the department has to show the public that officers are trained properly and have the best tools and equipment to deal with the changing environment out there.

"The overwhelming majority of the work that police departments do is not secretive," says Monroe. "The majority of what we do we should be able to share with the public. We always have to look for and find ways to improve upon that trust; ways we can be inclusive of the community in what we do and how we do it and why we do it."

Trust that can be easily eroded in certain aspects of the community, like Charlotte's Hispanic population.

One Saturday in late June, two Hispanic men in south Charlotte were robbed by a man impersonating a police officer, according to a report by WSOC-TV.

"People out here know what certain people's fears are and they seek to exploit those fears," Monroe says. "Whether you're talking about a con man trying to swindle an elderly person or someone impersonating a police officer or someone trying to intimidate a certain minority group, they have calculated the risk and the success of their illegal deed. I think that any group needs to be mindful of that. Part of that is: how do we better protect ourselves? It's a constant communication on how do we improve upon ways to make communities and individuals safe."

At press time there had been no report of an arrest in the case. But there are other issues in the Hispanic community when it comes to a relationship with CMPD and law enforcement as a whole. Angeles Ortega-Moore, director of the Latin American Coalition, says the Hispanic community is concerned about the 287(g) program at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department.

According to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the 287(g) program is a means by which state and local law enforcement agencies may enter into agreements with the department of Homeland Security so that officers may receive training from ICE to perform immigration enforcement functions -- such as identification, processing and detention of immigration offenders.

Ortega-Moore says she hopes Monroe doesn't join up with 287(g).

"It doesn't make our community safer. On the contrary, it makes our community much more dangerous because people won't report any crimes," she says. "We're hoping that it's something he would consider leaving where it is right now, as far as the police department is concerned."

Ortega-Moore says her group plans to give the chief time to get to know Charlotte before setting up a meeting with him.

"It's sort of like when [CMS superintendent] Peter Gorman came to town everybody wanted to meet with him. I'm trying to give [Monroe] some space for the man to settle down," she says. "But certainly, it is something that I'm looking at to meet with him and hear what is his plan for the community."

She adds that over the years, Hispanics and CMPD have enjoyed a good relationship and much of that is credited to the International Relations Unit. She hopes that's one of the things that Monroe keeps going at the department.

"If there was a discussion about canceling that program, I would be very concerned about it," she says.

One concern that the entire city undoubtedly shares is the rising crime rates. In the latest crime statistics released from the department, property crimes like residential burglary and thefts from cars rose significantly.

Residential burglary was up 13.2 percent; car thefts rose 27.3 percent over last year. Crime even visited neighborhoods like Dilworth and Plaza Midwood -- places once considered "safe" -- in greater numbers, which angered many residents. As a result, some Plaza Midwood neighbors took to patrolling the streets armed with guns.

"I think Plaza Midwood has been experiencing something that's not unlike what has been experienced citywide," says Leslie Shinn, president of the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association.

It isn't Shinn's group that carries guns; it's the Neighborhood Watch Alliance, which she says isn't affiliated with PMNA.

"I think neighbors looking out for neighbors is always good. I'm a little concerned about armed, untrained patrol," she says. "I think the more eyes you have on the street the better you are. Do I want all of those people armed? I don't know about that."

Monroe also says he's concerned about the armed patrols.

"Is that the way our system in society is designed for us to arm ourselves and walk the streets, patrolling the streets? No. I could never say that is something that I believe should happen. I believe it is systematic of a couple of things that [are] happening where citizens don't feel protected and in the same vein they don't feel that their communities are respected by individuals that would come out and do harm to them. They feel that people think they can come out there and do harm to them and get away with it."

This is a frustration Shinn echoes, saying that there are a lot of repeat offenders out there who commit crimes in neighborhoods like Plaza Midwood and there is only so much police can do.

"It just seems to be a revolving door," she says. "That money needs to come from Raleigh. We can hire all the police officers that we want, but if we can't get beyond the 'they got arrested' phase, there has to be more of the other. It's a package and Raleigh has to do something. That's why we pay taxes to the state of North Carolina."

Monroe says people have to feel protected and know that once a criminal is identified, they are dealt with in a way that stops them from committing illegal activity ... instead of them feeling like there are no consequences to their actions.

Yet Monroe says he would never tell citizens that they shouldn't protect themselves.

"I believe everybody has that right. But I'd like to get to a point where citizens feel that we have the necessary resources within the police department that we can do that. Charlotte has grown so much, and we need to take a look to see whether or not the police department's resources have grown at the same rate so that we are in a position where we can protect all of its people," says Monroe.

"The tighter the armor we place around our communities and ourselves," he continues, "the less heightened we become to those that try to do harm to us."

Monroe says communication between police and the community is paramount. "Criminals out here know and can recognize vulnerability in our society and will always look to try and exploit those vulnerabilities. The more unified front that police and citizens can show -- we're not going to tolerate certain activities in our community -- that sends a very, very powerful message to those that want to do harm to us. This is not the place that I'm going to engage in criminal activities."

Monroe recalls how police in Richmond and the community came together in neighborhoods where murder cases just didn't seem to close. Police, he says, were constantly called to those neighborhoods picking up bodies because people felt they could go there and (literally) get away with murder.

"It wasn't until we were able to forge a good enough relationship with people in those communities where people said, 'You know what? We're not going to take this.' We made a pledge that if you come to us with the information that we need, [tell us] who's out here doing this, we're going to remove them from your neighborhood; for them never to be able to do harm to you again."

Monroe says people started bringing in the information -- sometimes in the form of an anonymous letter being tossed into a police car or calls to the station. "We started extracting those people [committing crimes] and [citizens'] confidence level started building, saying yes we can have a relationship with the police and yes they are going to go out there and make out community safer."