Large Contingent of Florida Cops Resign Over ‘Political’ Atmosphere

As Americans continue to grapple with just how to proceed with policing in this nation, those who wear the badge are similarly dealing with a massive shift in their own perception of the job.

The debate over how to continue protecting and serving the nation while also improving the humanity of the law enforcement world is a complicated one.  Furthermore, there is a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg tradeoff occurring here as well, given that the police have been doing their job the same way for decades, if not longer.  Some of the issues we face today are not caused by the design of the policing system, but by the evolution of it.

In other words, the times they are a’changin’, and it hasn’t been comfortable for everyone involved.

In Florida, the sudden politicization of the police was enough to see several police officer quit in unison.

Ten members of a police SWAT team in a South Florida city quit the unit this week, concerned about “today’s political climate” and its impact on their jobs, according to a report.

In a letter dated Tuesday, the officers in Hallandale Beach, Broward County, complained of being “minimally equipped, under trained and often times restrained” in performing their duties, Miami FOX station WSVN-TV reported.

The officers – who were leaving the SWAT unit but not resigning from the force — wrote that they were concerned that city officials were “placing the safety of dogs over the safety of team members.”

The move comes after 57 members of the Buffalo Police Department resigned similar enhanced assignments in solidarity with two officers who were suspended for shoving an elderly man to the ground in a moment that captured the attention of the entire nation.