Former teacher sues Charlotte police for mistaken identity conviction that cost him his career

WCNC, CHARLOTTE -  A former teacher and football coach from Graham is suing the city of Charlotte and three of its police officers after a mistake resulted in a conviction on his record and cost the innocent man his career. 

The lawsuit accuses the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department of negligence and malicious prosecution for misidentifying a suspect as Kendrick Gonzalez in early 2023. 

"It was just devastating for me," Gonzalez said. "How does this happen?"

Almost two hours away from where Gonzalez lives and works, Charlotte police arrested a man on Feb. 13, 2023 in connection to the crime they accused Gonzalez of.

They charged him with breaking and entering, resisting police, possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.  

"Officers were able to locate this name and date of birth, but did not believe the photo provided by the DMV matched the male," one of the officers wrote on the arrest sheet. 

The man plead guilty to the breaking and entering charge under Gonzalez' name. 

"I received a phone call from HR," he said. Gonzalez was working as a teacher and football couch for Alamance County Schools. "I was literally in the middle of practice. All of the kids kind of hear the conversation and the coaching staff as well, so it was extremely embarrassing. I was just stunned."

When "his" mugshot appeared online, he quicky recognized the man. It was Kemardrick Sherrod, a childhood friend of Gonzalez. 

"I was heartbroken, we grew up literally two doors down from each other," said Gonzalez. 

Alongside his attorney, Gonzalez is pushing for protocol changes in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. 

CMPD told WCNC the agency is "unable to provide comment or additional information" at this time. 

The city filed a motion to dismiss Gonzalez's lawsuit on Friday.