Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Joel Medina, 30, was arrested on August 5, 2024 in Charlotte, NC accused of extortion. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
The arrest stems from a victim contacting police to report that Officer Medina sent the victim a message over a social media platform.
Officer Medina allegedly demanded that the victim send him $10,000 or he would post sexually explicit photos/videos of the victim to friends and family.
The victim did not comply with the demand for payment. When no payment was made Officer Medina is accused of posting a sexually explicit video of the victim with another person performing sexual acts.
Officer Medina allegedly sent the sex video to a friend of the victim. After a lengthy investigation, including various court documents and evidence collected by detectives, Officer Medina was arrested charged with one count of felony extortion and one count of felony disclosure of private images.
Investigators determined that the incident occurred outside of the police department official work capacity and did not involve the functions of his job.
The police internal affairs division is conducting a parallel investigation. Officer Medina is currently on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the internal investigation.
Officer Medina was hired with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department on February 28, 2022, and is currently assigned to the Eastway Division.
