Cops are leaving Seattle in droves.
Jason Rantz of KTTH radio in Seattle reports that the police brain drain continues apace with 66 cops giving notice of their leave so far. A total of 100 police officers are expected to flee the approximately 1,200-person force by the end of May. Rantz says that several sources verified the numbers, although the city of Seattle hasn’t yet officially divulged them.
Though the city has not yet officially released staffing numbers, officials have expressed significant concern publicly and privately about the staffing situation. The city does not have enough officers to safely protect our neighborhoods or respond to emergencies.
In 2020, 193 officers officially left the SPD. That is a historic number, one that came after nearly a year of relentless attacks from the Seattle City Council and radical activists.
The far-left Seattle council has continually denigrated the cops and cut the police budget.
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As a result, violent crime has gone up.
During that time, the council cut the SPD’s budget dramatically, despite a clear uptick in crime. Seattle hit a 26-year-high homicide rate as a result. But that didn’t stop the council from trying to cut even more from the budget. That attempt was a failure, though the council promises to revisit.
The exodus accelerated after the George Floyd riots in Seattle and especially after CHAZ/CHOP activists attempted to torch a police building with officers inside. They attempted to seal the door so officers could not escape the flames.
City leadership did not back up the cops. Instead, they piled on, creating even more morale problems.
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Among the anti-cop council members is Kshama Sawant, who called police officers “murderers.” But Rantz notes that she’s got plenty of company on the nutty Seattle City Council.
Kshama Sawant has been quick to label officers murderers. Teresa Mosqueda defended a man who threatened to murder officers, calling his anger “justified.” Lorena Gonzalez and Lisa Herbold even tried to fire officers on the basis of their race. If you are white and work for the SPD, you were at risk of losing your job.
Officers not even close to retirement age have found jobs elsewhere, in cities such as Spokane, Wash., on the other side of the state.
Back in August, I let law enforcement know if their cities were defunding police departments, the City of Spokane was hiring. Please join me in welcoming these 4 lateral officers from Seattle who were sworn in today. A BIG win for #Spokane! pic.twitter.com/OPLAmZi7x8
— Mayor Nadine Woodward (@MayorSpokane) December 15, 2020
Four officers moved out of Seattle to make less money in Spokane.
Seattle is looking for officers to fill the void.
But current cops are sending resumes and applications to other places at a record rate, as KING 5 News reported last summer at the height of the George Floyd riots.
Between May and July 17, the King County Sheriff’s Office received 38 applications from the Seattle Police Department to apply laterally for deputy positions.
The Everett Police Department has seen 30 applications from Seattle officers and more have expressed interest. That’s “higher than normal from any one agency,” according to Aaron Snell, public information officer for the Everett Police Department.
Officials from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department also said there has been an “uptick” in applications from Seattle officers. At the beginning of June, the sheriff’s department received four applications. The most recent information for June and July isn’t available.
The same drain of cops is occurring in Portland, as I’ve reported for PJ Media.
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No one should be surprised. After all, when you tell people you don’t want them, libel them, and then cut the budget, it’s not a mystery why they leave. You don’t need Sherlock Holmes to figure that out.
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