Rantz: Seattle Police face critical shortage as 33 more officers leave in mass exodus
Dec 10, 2020, 7:21 PM | Updated: Dec 11, 2020, 2:44 pm
The Seattle Police Department saw another 33 officers leave the force as the mass exodus continues, the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH has learned.
The newest data is the all-inclusive number from November and some days in December. Though we’re only a little over a week into December, the trend looks to be continuing.
There’s now growing alarm from command staff that Seattle doesn’t have nearly enough officers to keep citizens safe. If something doesn’t change soon, the situation will become critical.
Rantz: Radical councilmembers offended city is funding police department
Seattle’s mass exodus of police continues
A look at the November and partial December separations comes with a startling data point: 28 of the 33 separations were patrol officers. Morale is low and frustration is high. More officers will leave this year and in early 2021, with a high number of officers with applications out to area law enforcement agencies. The total number of departing officers may reach 200 by the end of the year once all the paperwork is cleared.
The November numbers were not a complete shock. The trend has been troubling since the attacks against officers by the Seattle City Council escalated after the killing of George Floyd. Internal SPD numbers show around 130 official officer separations for the year so far, but the expectation is that it exceeds 150 within the next month or so.
Rantz: Rioters tried to burn Seattle police alive, sealed door during fire at East Precinct
Councilmembers immediately sided with criminal activists as they intensified literal attacks against officers. Silent as officers came under frequent assault, including multiple Molotov cocktail attacks and an attempt to burn officers alive, the council instead plowed ahead to defund the Seattle police.
Despite a 12-year rise in homicides, the council cut the SPD’s budget by 18% last month, though councilmember Lisa Herbold and then-candidates Andrew Lewis and Dan Strauss ran campaigns promising to hire more cops this year, not cut budgets. But as the political winds changed, so too did the council’s agenda.
Despite record homicide rates, the Seattle City Council and Mayor are cutting the Seattle Police budget by 18%. How does this end? More homicides. It's not hard to figure out. I discussed with Brian @Kilmeade on @foxandfriends. pic.twitter.com/WvAMdNKXv6
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) December 2, 2020
‘Crime will tip over a dangerous cliff’
Seattle Police Officer’s Guild president Officer Mike Solan blames Seattle’s “activist mob” for pushing the officers out, citing their “nonsensical agenda” that’s killing the relationship between the community and police. He warns that Seattle crime is about to get worse.
“The council, who rule to that nonsensical activist base, are not changing their rhetoric and sadly, as a result, excellent officers are still fleeing SPD for other agencies due to this hostile climate,” Solan tells the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “Sadly, it’s Seattle’s reasonable citizens that will bear this weight as crime will tip over a dangerous cliff. Seattle is a shell of what it once was. Thanks city council for ruining Seattle but more importantly crushing a great police department. This is on you. What a shame.”
Multiple people within the SPD share Solan’s concerns over crime. Already, 911 response times are up, and the city’s growing homicide rate shows little sign of subsiding.
What’s worse, the city is readying legislation sponsored by Councilmember Herbold that will legalize up to 100 misdemeanor offenses if they’re committed by the homeless or drug addicted. On the county level, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg is forwarding a new policy giving a pass to felony offenders.
In other words: As crime surges, city leaders are creating an environment that gives a pass to more criminals, while pushing cops out. How do they think this will end?
Rantz: Domestic violence homicides soar with coronavirus mandates
Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter, Instagram, and Parler and like me on Facebook.
-
Tune in to AM 770 KTTH weekdays at 3-7pm toThe Jason Rantz Show.
