Chicago police retirements were up 15% last year over 2019. In New York, retirements nearly doubled. Some Chicago cops cite anti-police rhetoric over the past year. The number of police officers retiring in Chicago and other cities has soared amid a chorus of anti-police rhetoric that’s become increasingly loud over the past year.
In Chicago, 560 officers retired in 2020 in a police department that had about 13,100 sworn officers as of March, records show. That’s about 15% more cops retiring than during the previous year, when the number of retirements rose by nearly 30%.
In New York City, 2,500 cops retired last year, nearly double the number in 2019, according to the New York Police Department, which has about 34,500 uniformed officers.
In Minneapolis, about 40 officers retired last year, and another 120 took leaves of absence. That’s nearly 20% of a police department with about 840 officers in the city that touched off anti-police protests nationwide following the death last May of George Floyd, who was Black. A since-fired white cop knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes that was captured on video by witnesses. Police officials are waiting to see whether the leaves of absences in the Minnesota city become retirements.
“It’s serious,” said Michael Lappe, vice president of the board of trustees for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, which oversees police pensions. “A lot of these people aren’t retiring. They’re quitting.”
Minneapolis city officials are asking surrounding communities to place some of their officers on joint law enforcement teams in the face of the flood of departures. The Minneapolis Police Department also is curtailing some of the work it normally does.
“The bike cops and the community engagement has been done away with,” police spokesman John Elder said. “Our homeless missions were scrapped. Our 911 response and our investigations are the focus now.”
In Chicago, some cops say last summer’s riots and demonstrations, which saw Black Lives Matter community activists call for defunding the police, were demoralizing. They say it also didn’t help police morale that more than 1,000 officers have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Speaking only on the condition of not being named, some officers also said the massive criminal justice reform bill that passed in Springfield on Wednesday could be the final straw that could prompt them to leave the department even though they haven’t worked enough years to qualify for a maximum pension.
Among many other things, the bill which Gov. J.B. Pritzker has two months to sign would make it easier to file complaints against police officers. Sponsors said the legislation was a response to systemic racism.
The upswing in cop retirements in Chicago already is hurting the police pension system, according to Lappe. About 1,100 more people are now getting pensions than the number who are paying into the fund in Chicago, he said.
The rising number of cop retirements last year in Chicago also coincided with massive spending on police overtime to keep up with the soaring number of shootings as well as the rioting and demonstrations.
The retirements will put added pressure on the police department to recruit new cops this year, especially with 90 more officers having put in to retire in February. Police officials said they’re prepared to fill the vacancies.
“Recruiting and hiring the next generation of officers who reflect a broad cross section of our neighborhoods in which we serve is a priority for the Chicago Police Department,” officials said in a written statement. “We are currently working on plans for recruitment and hiring this year as we continue working to improve public safety in our communities across the city. As plans for hiring are being solidified, CPD continues to maintain appropriate manpower citywide.”
Ashlee Rezin Garcia / Sun-Times file
John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police union’s Lodge 7 in Chicago, says the city won’t be able to recruit enough new officers to keep pace with retirements.
John Catanzara, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police union, said he can’t see how the police department’s recruiting can keep pace with the retirements and pointed to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s latest budget, which eliminated 614 police vacancies.
“Even ones that aren’t eligible to collect a pension check if you’ve got five years on and you’ve got other options, I can see officers exploring it,” Catanzara said. “And what is this city going to do? You literally just handed the keys to the criminals.
“They have just made policing in this city and state near-impossible,” the police union boss said. “They have given control to the criminals.”
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Recruiting and hiring the next generation of officers who reflect a broad cross section of our neighborhoods
In other words black leftist radicals who support bLM, Antifa and the Dem Party.
I am surprised, its SO SMALL of a #.. IMO 15% is no where the # of cops i thought or HOPED< would be calling it quits, cause of this.
Keep voting in Democrats, you sheep and you will have total lawlessness. When these criminals, supported by the Democrats, kill you sheep in your homes or businesses or rob your homes or businesses or destroy the home or building you are in, let’s see how great it is for you sheep, that constantly vote in the Democrats. We will see how you sheep like it, when the “defunded” police do not show up, when the criminals, who vote Democrat, come after you.
DemocRATS are EVIL and INSANE!!! I hope they PAY big for what they are doing to this country… Beijing Biden and Communist Harris going to take this country down a dark and dangerous road… they will get rid of all the good that Trump did for OUR country and the American people.. STUPID!!!! Beijing Biden has already created a crisis along our southern border with his holding illegal aliens above the laws.. Millions of illegal aliens heading to our country now wanting Beijing Biden to let them in…..bringing the virus and other diseases, coming in when we have millions without work because of the virus, NO back ground checks to know what kind of people are going to force their way in… Americans will be forced to support them… Beijing Biden will drive more and more American families into poverty, jobs lost, higher taxes, higher gas prices, etc..
BUT whom’s gonna make them pay??
The soon to be vice president Nazi Nancy Pelosi has made it clear what is ahead.
Stand By…. the Democrat Party political officers and Gestapo are just getting started.
You will either be loyal supporters of the Democrat Party or you will be classified as “Enemies of the State”.
24 Aug. 2020
Monday on MSNBC’s “Live,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
referred to President Donald Trump and his Republican allies as “enemies of the state.”
Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, labeled US President Donald Trump and the Republican party “domestic enemies” and “enemies of the state,”
The governments of the States and the Country are doing what England did years ago. They raised the taxes of the “rich” people meaning the Doctors. Then they passed socialized medicine, and set the prices that doctors could charge.
What happened was that they had something called “the Brain Drain” where all the smart people who had money, moved to the away from England. That included the Doctors, Lawyers, and business owners. Now the people of England have free health care…if they can find a doctor, and their taxes are quite high to pay for that free health care. Most of the money goes toward running the bureaucracy. Nobody wants to go to Medical school for 12 years to become a doctor and make low wages.
The Beatles left and went to America, because the government took most of their money. The had a song called “The Taxman” which said “That’s one for you, nineteen for me.” a picture of the 95% income tax rate they were paying.
IIRC, from when i last was in the UK, the “Tax free day”, meaning the day your work, FINISHED PAYING OFF your tax debt, and you started earning for yourself, WAS IN MID MAY.. That’s FIVE MONTHS Out of the year, you’re paying for all those “FREE THINGS” the UK govt gives you…
Mama, take this badge off of me. I can’t use it anymore.
This is becoming the anthem of many good police officers.
They cannot use their badges due to personal, criminal and legal threats if they try to do their jobs.
The criminals have won and they are backed by democrats
That’s because the DEMS ARE CRIMINALS..