A study suggests that the social justice protests of 2020 may not have directly caused a wave of police officers to leave the force. The protests were sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, leading to widespread demonstrations against police brutality. The conventional wisdom was that officers resigned in response to the protests, but a new study challenges this narrative.
The study, conducted by Duke University law professor Ben Grunwald, analyzed data from over 6,800 local law enforcement agencies across fifteen states covering half of the U.S. population. The study found that separations among these agencies after the summer of 2020 were not as drastic as previously believed. While there was an increase in separations in 2021, it was smaller and less sudden than reported.
According to Grunwald, the increase in separations in 2021 can be attributed to various factors such as economic opportunities, pandemic-related stress, and demographic shifts. The study also found no evidence that intense political activism during the protests directly led to more officer resignations.
Overall, the study suggests that the reasons for officer resignations are multifaceted and not solely related to the social justice protests of 2020. Factors such as economic conditions, pandemic stress, and demographic trends may have played a significant role in officers choosing to leave the force.
Fordham University law professor John Pfaff highlighted that “a police officer’s annual pension payout is determined by their total income—not just base wages, but wages combined with OVERTIME—earned in their final few years.” In 2020, Atlanta saw a doubling of officer overtime pay, while Chicago dispersed over $177 million in overtime, marking a 27 percent increase from the previous year.
Grunwald’s findings may not address all concerns regarding the current state of law enforcement—his data does not explore whether officers are “quietly resigning,” remaining on the force but putting forth minimal effort. However, his research suggests that, contrary to recent worries, the protests in 2020 did not lead to a mass exodus of police officers.
