CMPD says intoxicated officer charged after threatening other officers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police had to arrest a fellow officer overnight after they said he was drunk and making threats at the Transit Center in uptown Charlotte.

According to CMPD, Officer Byron Blair was arrested and charged with intoxication and being disruptive and communicating threats.

(Byron Blair)

Officers said that around 1:15 a.m., police were called to help G4S police at the Transit Center on East Trade Street for a belligerent person. When officers got there, they spoke with Blair, who was threatening to harm officers.

Blair was arrested and taken into custody at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

CMPD Chief Kerr Putney released the following statement after the arrest:

“Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are expected to conduct themselves to the highest professional standards and will be held accountable when they fail to do so. At no time will this department tolerate behavior that violates the law or our community’s trust.”

According to CMPD, Blair was hired by the department on Oct. 26, 2015. He’s been placed on administrative leave and is the subject of a criminal and internal investigation.

Community leader says officer's arrest could be valuable lesson

A Charlotte community leader said he believes the CMPD officer’s arrest Friday morning could be a valuable lesson in his efforts to build trust between police and young people in the community.

In a statement shortly after Blair’s arrest CMPD Chief Kerr Putney said in part:

"At no time will this department tolerate behavior that violates the law or our community's trust."

Trust is something Garcia Nelson has been trying to restore for two years.

Nelson and a team of volunteers go to the Transit Center every week to have frank discussions with teenagers about everything from their futures to their feelings about police.

Nelson said that Blair’s arrest does not represent the vast majority of police officers, but he said it shows that CMPD is enforcing the law even-handedly, and that’s a lesson he can use.

“That should say a lot. That should say something about, Hey, they're not just targeting individuals that are in some type of criminal activity. They're talking anyone that's not going to uphold the law,” Nelson said.

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