The last four years have been very hard on the men and women in blue. The George Floyd riots gave tacit permission for leftists, BLM, Antifa, anarchists, and BLM types to violently attack officers. Woke politicians used the "police brutality" farce to defund their departments, and deadly ambush attacks are increasing.
Randy Sutton, author of Rescuing 911, says it's no surprise that law enforcement personnel are leaving for greener – make that redder – pastures.
“We've been seeing this, actually, for several years. There was the defunding movement, there were aspects of the law enforcement community that were being attacked regularly by the leadership of the cities that they serve,” Sutton says.
Benefits of leaving blue cities include job security, better pay, and leaders who support the department. Joe Gamaldi, Vice President of FOP, asks why anyone would stay and work for an area when they endure hostility from local leaders in the community.
They're landing in red states like Texas and Florida – which went after the disaffected cops. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody reported that, out of all the law enforcement recruits from 2022 and 2024, 1,220 of them were from out of state.
“Florida was heavily recruiting active-duty law enforcement officers to come to Florida, and they were saying, 'hey, come to where you're respected’,” states Sutton.
Sutton says the profession has taken such a hit that even those departments are having a hard time filling all the slots.
“(It's) very difficult to be a police officer, and we've seen a downward decline of, not just of recruitment, but of retention of law enforcement officers. It is a national crisis,” Sutton explains.
He says some officers are looking for more rural assignments, but often, they can't afford the move.
