Minneapolis is having a tough time restaffing its police force amid a crime wave after officers left en masse following the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, according to The Associated Press.
Then-Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the department lost almost 300 officers by October 2021 to causes including retirement, resignation and disability leave for claimed post-traumatic stress disorder following Floyd’s death and large-scale protests, according to Newsweek. The department has reportedly seen applicant numbers drop from 292 in 2019 to 57 this year, with its September graduating recruiting class only featuring six people, according to the AP.
“In Minneapolis, with what we’ve been through for the last couple years, for you to be here and have an interest in law enforcement … I’m impressed with every one of you that’s here,” training officer Matthew Hobbs told attendees at a March recruitment information session, the outlet reported.
