At least seven Minneapolis Police Department officers have quit — and another seven are in the process of resigning — citing lack of support in wake of George Floyd’s police-involved death.
Several officers said in exit interviews that they didn’t feel supported by the department or City Hall as protests over Floyd’s death escalated, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Other officers had to be talked out of resigning, the newspaper said.
The MPD didn’t disclose the reasons behind the officers’ departures.
“People seek to leave employment for a myriad of reasons,” the agency said in a statement. “The MPD is no exception. Due to these employment separations, we have not noted any indicators that would impact public safety.”
But insiders said the unusually large exodus comes amid sinking morale among officers, according to the Star Tribune.
“They don’t feel appreciated. Everybody hates the police right now. I mean everybody,” Mylan Masson, a retired Minneapolis police officer, told the newspaper.
Minneapolis has been the center of unrest across the nation since Floyd died after a white former cop, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee into his neck for almost nine minutes.
Chauvin and the three other officers involved were fired, arrested and charged in response to the deadly encounter.