The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is down nearly 50% of staffing minimums in patrol, while special events staffing is down around 40%, according to the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) and multiple sources. The especially dire staffing situation may be due to a “sick out.”
Multiple sources tell the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH that many officers either called out sick or did not show up for work Saturday. Patrol was hit especially hard with just around 40-50 officers on duty. That number is normally around 65-70, though that number is also low due to the general lack of SPD staffing.
“Despite the hard work all of us are continuing to do, today patrol operations is dangerously close to being 50% down from minimum safe staffing levels,” Seattle Police Officer Guild (SPOG) president Mike Solan said in a statement to his membership obtained by the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.
