Dozens of Officers Leave Seattle As City Council Cuts Their Funding

As of October, 134 officers have left the Seattle Police Department. Meanwhile, the city council has voted to slash SPD’s budget by almost 20%.

After more than a hundred officers have left Seattle, the city council voted this week to cut the police department’s budget by 18%.

The city council voted 8-1 to decrease the police department’s budget, after activists originally demanded that it be reduced by 50%.

As of Oct. 31, 134 officers have left the Seattle Police Department. Last month alone, 23 officers left. Former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best also resigned in August after activists targeted her home and the city council had voted to reduce the police department’s funding by millions.

Yet, Democratic Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan mentioned that she supports the budget. She said in a statement: “I applaud the City Council for taking a more deliberate and measured approach to the 2021 Seattle Police Department budget than occurred this summer which led to the resignation of former SPD Chief Carmen Best.”

In contrast, Mike Solan, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG), said that the city council was naïve. He warned that responses to 911 calls will now take longer.

“You’re going to see crime rise, we’re already seeing increased homicide rates that we haven’t seen in decades,” Solan said.  

For months, protests and riots across the country have demonized our communities’ police officers. Meanwhile, Democrat-led cities like Seattle are continuing to cut off support for their law enforcement, forcing officers to leave departments.

If we allow our leaders to “defund the police,” public safety will be at risk and more and more people will suffer from a lack of security. We must support those in law enforcement in order to improve our communities and maintain the freedoms we have in this great country.