Jason Rantz: 5 reasons why Seattle police are ditching the city

Since 2020, I have exclusively reported that at least 270 officers have separated from the force. That’s almost one-third of the department. Some resigned, others retired, and many have made lateral moves to agencies more supportive of police. There are at least 100 more officers "unavailable," according to an internal HR document. Many are burning their accrued sick and vacation time before leaving the department for good. Consequently, Seattle is in the middle of a staffing crisis that’s leaving citizens vulnerable. The department has the lowest deployable staff since the 1980s with, at times, precincts at or below staffing minimums. It’s been a long-time coming: the crisis pre-dated the Left’s war on cops that defined 2020. Seattle got a head start, constantly pushing back against police.