Like most of America, Seattle is suffering from shortages, but Seattle’s are self-created, and the shortage is of enough police to protect the city’s streets. It all started when Seattle’s left-wing politicians drove many police to retire early or transfer out of town with their #DEFUNDTHEPOLICE activism. Then, Seattle heaped on top of their police a vaccine mandate. Many officers understandably said “no thank you,” to the city’s medical tyranny, and left the force. Now, reports Jason Rantz of 770KTTH, the city doesn’t have enough police to walk the beat. He writes:
Before the COVID vaccine mandate, Seattle Police Department staffing was a crisis. With only 1,048 deployable officers, the city is short between 400 and 500 officers for a city of this side. Now, thanks to Mayor Jenny Durkan sidelining over 100 officers for not complying with her mandate, staffing is a catastrophe in the making.
The SPD does not have enough officers to meet daily minimum staffing needs in any precinct. The department has been augmenting patrols thanks to officers volunteering from non-patrol units to respond to 911 calls. But in the weeks moving forward, there are dozens of unfilled patrols. Third Watch West Precinct alone is currently understaffed for the entire month of November.
What’s the response from the city leadership? They’ve been silent on the staffing emergency, pretending it doesn’t exist while downplaying the number of officers terminated over the mandate. And local media has barely taken notice.
Internally, the SPD acknowledged terminating six staff and placing 103 on the so-called HR “unavailable list.” Those 103 are seeking exemptions to get out of the mandate. The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH is told all patrol officers on the list were initially denied accommodations, even though they all worked safely with accommodations for the last 18 months. But sidelining those officers as they await official termination or a new city compromise has real consequences.
Each day, precinct leaders send out emails asking for volunteers to take on understaffed patrol shifts.
Non-patrol officers then volunteer their time to take on the shift, delaying the work they’d otherwise do in their units. Officers from Domestic Violence, General Investigation Unit, Education and Training, and Community Outreach are all units that have lost officers for emergency staffing.
On the day the terminations and sidelines were announced, the staff augmentation began. It hasn’t stopped since.
Over the weekend, the SPD struggled to fill patrols across the city. On Saturday, the North precinct needed seven officers to work 3rd Watch, while East Precinct needed three to work patrol and one to work nightlife emphasis. South Precinct struggled, too, though it was for 2nd Watch.
“It’s just putting on a Band-Aid on a hemorrhage,” Seattle Police Officers Guild president Mike Solan said of this augmentation plan.
Seattle isn’t the only city facing staffing shortages. Police departments in blue cities and states used to get loads of applications, but now, with politicians signaling that police are expendable tools in the culture wars, applications have fallen off a cliff. Since Democrats began their war on police, criminals responded to their encouragement, assaulting police more in 2020 than ever before.
Action Line: If you’re a cop, or just a person who likes to know there are cops protecting your streets, and you live in a big blue city where politicians treat police like the enemy, it’s time to look for a better America today.
