Lawsuit Against Central Piedmont Community College

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY | ONGOING

Case Summary

Notice Filed 4/23/2025

Updated 6/4/2025

North Carolina residents are suing Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) and its Board of Trustees due to CPCC’s efforts to hide information about its development of a controversial public safety training facility. Two plaintiffs were also banned from CPCC’s campus after attending a public meeting about the issue.

Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) filed a Complaint in Mecklenburg County Superior Court on April 23, 2025, on behalf of five Mecklenburg County residents, detailing how CPCC systematically shielded from view public information about a massive training facility, and then kicked out these individuals from a public meeting on March 12, 2025, for simply attempting to learn more information. The case was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte on May 23, 2025. The lawsuit asks the court to stop CPCC from continuing its unlawful practices; nullify those decisions that occurred in violation of the law; and hold CPCC accountable for violating the First Amendment rights of two plaintiffs who were unjustifiably banned from its campus.

Why it's Important

The large-scale development of law enforcement training facilities implicates an array of public safety, environmental, and economic concerns. The public has a protected interest to be able to access details about these projects funded by taxpayer dollars. This litigation seeks to ensure that public bodies uphold their obligations to be open and transparent, and are held accountable for violating the rights of those who ask questions.