Charlotte’s new police chief is pushing for higher pay and take-home patrol cars as she looks to fill nearly 300 vacancies. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Estella Patterson told lawmakers in Raleigh on Monday the department needs more competitive incentives to recruit and retain officers.
“I know that we have got to fill vacancies,” Patterson told the state Oversight Committee.
She said CMPD has 289 open positions with starting pay around $59,000 a year for new officers…