As Record Number of Chicago Cops Retire Amid Hostile Government, It Looks Like Gang Members Could Soon Outnumber Remaining Officers Ten-to-One
The number of Chicago cops set to retire this year could break a record, threatening to leave those still on the force without veteran officers as they attempt to police a city in which they are outnumbered by gang members by a ratio of 9-1 — a divide that threatens to increase even more.
We all of course know that crime in the Windy City is staggering. Every Monday, we see headlines of the dozens of people shot and usually several killed by gunfire from mostly gang violence.
Crime in Chicago is nothing new, especially if you’re a history buff with an interest in Al Capone’s infamous outfit.
But what has changed is that the city is now run by leftists. We’re not talking about tree-hugging liberals, either. We’re talking full-blown, left-wing Marxists who are using America’s cities as a social experiment for their bad ideas.
Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot is an empty suit, and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is a walking enabler for criminals.
Leftism gets people killed. Chicago has seen a dramatic spike in shootings since last summer. The situation could grow worse as this year continues, thanks to the number of officers who are expected to call it a career.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that in half of 2021, more Chicago Police Department officers retired than they did in all of 2018.
The outlet reported that 363 officers retired from January to June of this year, and 56 more are expected to be out the door by the end of July.
It might seem like 419 cops are a drop in the bucket in a police force with 13,000 officers, but when you look at what the department and citizens are up against, that number is staggering.
How many years of cumulative experience do 419 cops have?
WMAQ-TV reported there are an estimated 117,000 active gang members in the city, which means the Chicago Police Department is outnumbered 9-1, and will soon be without those hundreds of officers and all the war zone experience they have.
Are these cops retiring so they can go off and enjoy some fishing on Lake Michigan? Not according to Alderman Raymond Lopez.
Lopez told the Sun-Times that many officers are leaving Chicago and continuing their law enforcement careers in other cities because the leftists in charge of the city won’t back them up.
“Many of our officers are not choosing to leave law enforcement as a profession but are retiring early to go to other departments because they don’t feel appreciated and respected in their home city of Chicago,” Lopez said.
To make matters worse, the department is reportedly having a hard time with recruiting. Imagine that.
Would you go into law enforcement in Chicago, New York or Los Angeles right now? People, even those with the best hearts and minds, know it isn’t worth the risk to wear a badge in a city run by leftists.
Why risk being shot or arrested for fighting crime because those in charge are coddling criminals?
The Western Journal’s Michael Austin spoke with 29-year veteran officer Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith last month, and she disclosed how bad the situation is for Chicago cops.
“[W]e just had a woman who shot a Chicago police officer in the chest, attempted murder with a firearm. She pled that down to aggravated battery. So it’s a felony, but it’s not a high-level felony,” said Smith, who spent her career in law enforcement in the Chicago area.
“She’s going to get ten years in prison. In our system in Illinois, she’ll be out in four. That’s for attempted murder of a police officer who she shot in the chest. The only reason he’s alive is because he had on a ballistic vest. That is a very typical scenario in Cook County, Illinois,” she added.
Leftist Democrats in Chicago have turned the city into an urban war zone in recent years. Now, the city’s citizens and cops are left to deal with the crime.
But will Chicagoans vote these insane people out at the next opportunity? Don’t bet on it.
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