NYPD sees 49 percent spike in officers filing for retirement amid George Floyd unrest

A wave of NYPD officers has filed for retirement in the weeks following George Floyd's death on May 25, refocusing attention on police morale amid widespread protests and calls to defund law enforcement.

The NYPD told Fox News on Saturday that 272 officers have filed for retirement between Floyd's death and June 23. That represents a 49 percent increase over the same period in 2019.

Resignations and actual retirements have remained relatively stable with 135 retirements in 2020 and 131 during the same time last year. According to the department, that's because the recent spate of filings hasn't been processed yet. The department saw 35 resignations in 2019 compared to 36 so far in 2020.

Hundreds of police officers have reportedly been injured as protests, at times violent, rocked the nation. That included hundreds from the NYPD as the city weighed cutting its budget and transferring funds to other programs in the city.

Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch told the New York Post that officers were at their "breaking point."

"We are all asking the same question: ‘How can we keep doing our job in this environment?’" he said. "And that is exactly what the anti-cop crowd wants. If we have no cops because no one wants to be a cop, they will have achieved their ultimate goal.”

On Thursday, the Post reported that a Bronx precinct commander decided to quit over the NYPD's handling of police reform. Deputy Inspector Richard Brea reportedly took issue with the department's deci... (Read more)

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