In a poll conducted by the DC Police Union among its members, 71 percent of the officers stated that they are considering leaving the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in response to the police reform legislation.
Of those who are considering leaving, 25 percent may retire earlier than they originally planned, 35 percent are seeking jobs at other law enforcement agencies, and 39 percent are considering leaving law enforcement altogether.
“Many of our members have voiced that that Bill eliminates collective bargaining rights for employees, it makes it exceedingly more difficult to charge a suspect with assaulting a police officer, it changes body worn camera policy in such a way that is can no longer be used as an evidence collection tool, and it changes the language in use of force policy in the most utterly confusing way that even the Councilmembers could not figure out the intent or the impact of the language,” the Union said in a statement released on Thursday.
DC Police Union Statement on Membership Survey regarding Emergency Bill. pic.twitter.com/JJS4MJhwXc
— DC Police Union (@DCPoliceUnion) June 18, 2020
Nearly 600 members took part in the Union’s poll regarding their view on the impact of the DC Council’s police reform.
According to the poll, 96 percent of the participating members believe that crime will increase in the city, 88 percent think that officer safety will decrease, 93 percent think that discipline will decrease with the bill.
In addition, 98.7 percent of members “agree with Chief Newsham’s statement that ‘The DC Council has abandoned the Police.’”
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