January 1, Entire Missouri police department resigns

An entire police department in Missouri, including its police chief, turned in their resignations.

The resignations from three officers, a sergeant, and the police chief in Kimberling City leave the department with no employees. A nearby sheriff’s office will handle calls in the meantime.

“It will be a struggle to fill the police department back up with qualified officers. But hopefully they can start working on that soon and get that accomplished,” Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said.

The reasons for the resignations varied from a lack of qualified officers, the rate of pay, and not having a police clerk.

Recent data shows a 45% increase in the retirement rate of police officers and a nearly 20% increase in resignations from 2020-2021 compared to the prior year.

Source:

Missouri city police chief ‘unexpectedly’ resigns along with every single officer