by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
July 1, 2024
The officer later resigned after being arrested by his department for embezzlement.
A Black man confronted a Charlotte, North Carolina, police officer for allegedly stealing his money as he was being detained for a traffic violation, an incident that was caught on a body camera.
The footage, released to WCNC on June 25, showed the handcuffed man confronting officer Henry Chapman about the $900 being stashed in his car. While handcuffed, the man advocated for his lost funds, leading another police officer to hear him out and determine if the money was in Chapman’s possession.
“Yeah, look, no cap, I’m not even going to touch it, there’s blue hundreds [dollar bills] right here…All that’s my money, he didn’t have that,” said the man during the arrest, which took place in March.
Upon finding the cash tucked away in the car door, one of the responding officers asked if the money belonged to him.
“Yes, I heard him crumble it up,” the man tells another officer, referring to Chapman, whose face is visible in the clip.“ There was no reason for you to pop the rubber band off my money,” the man said. “… I was just pulled over for a traffic stop and you just tried to steal some of my money.”
The Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department charged Chapman with embezzlement on March 15. Originally placed on administrative leave as the investigation started, Chapman resigned the day after his arrest. He will now appear in court for a probable cause hearing this month.
“This incident doesn’t define the men and women of CMPD,” Chief Johnny Jennings said in a statement.
The videos from the incident can be seen on CMPD’s YouTube channel. The man who was arrested has not been identified.
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