As defund the police movements have continued to trickle throughout the country, one Missouri police chief and all of his officers have resigned from the Kimberling City Police Department. The city has a small department that serves the town of 2,500 residents. They cited improper pay and lacking the proper tools to do the job. This has left local leaders scrambling to fill the positions they’ve already struggled with since creating an anti-police environment. The police in Dem-run cities have been resigning by the busloads and some have even moved and gotten jobs in states where they feel appreciated.
Officers have had enough of their local leaders supporting the defund the police movements. A Police Executive Research Forum survey found a 45% increase in retirement rates and nearly 20% increase in resignations from officers in 2020-2021, compared to the year before.
Kimberling City Police Chief Craig Alexander put in his notice after accepting a job at the Branson West Police Department, saying he wanted a change and to better himself. He explained how he resigned from his department due to not having qualified officers in the department, the pay rate, and new opportunities.
Kimberling City Mayor Bob Fritz said he didn’t realize there were many openings in Branson West because he didn’t see any advertisements and that the resignations were “unexpected and the short notice disappointing.”
Other liberal cities are also trying to build back support in their departments after creating a mess all summer. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that the Seattle Police Department lost 250 officers over the past 17 months, which is over 300,000 service hours. She said they are on the path to losing 300 officers if they don’t reverse course and do better soon.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said it will be a struggle to fill the Kimberling City Police Department, noting that most police stations are understaffed. He said they can “hopefully” start working on getting that accomplished soon, but will have to perform some extra duties in the meantime. “Until then we will be answering all the calls in Kimberling City, we can’t enforce city ordinances, but any other calls we will be handling at this time,” Rader adds.
Washington D.C is also trying to clean up its anti-police rhetoric and hire more officers, with Mayor Muriel Bowser proposing the hiring of 170 additional officers in June.
Some cities, such as Minneapolis, have continued to see anarchist anti-police groups rage against the departments. The group CrimethInc has voiced support in Minneapolis to burn down police stations until “flowers grow in the wreckage of their system.” They have described themselves as a rebel alliance and have pledged to help abolish the police. Longtime Minneapolis Police Department spokesperson John Elder even resigned from the department, adding to the nearly 200 officers who have left there due to post-traumatic stress.
The radical left is even trying to take qualified immunity away from the police and then charge them with a crime. There’s not a sensible cop out there who would run the risk of destroying their lives like that, especially with the anti-cop activists out there today. The police have done everything to keep communities as safe as possible. It’s time they sue the Dem leaders trying to maintain a hazardous work environment.
