Asheville police one of many departments in U.S. battling exodus of officers, poor morale

In the past year-and-a-half, Asheville has seen officers leave the force in big numbers in light of widespread protests, calls to defund the police and poor pay. City officials said they've lost more than 80 staff members of its police department, around 40% of its 238-member force since Jan. 2020.

Asheville Police Chief David Zack paints a bleak picture. Replacements are hard to come by when it can be a battle just for some officers to show up and do their job.

"Back in 2020, we graduated seven candidates. In December 2020, six have already quit," Zack said during a recent meeting with city leaders.

A recent survey shows police retirement rates are up 45% for every 100 officers, according to policeforum.org. Resignation rates increased 18% between April 2020 and the end of March 2021.

For some in Asheville, there's a pronounced lack of trust in police that eroded even further during last summer's protests for racial justice.

"We are shifting our focus to the future and how we can retain our current officers and recruit high-caliber applicants," the department recently told media when asked about the vacancies.

A lack of support and poor pay are commonly cited in exit interviews, said Chief Zack. The department was paying most police trainees a starting salary around $36,000 and officers just over $37,000.

Still, city officials want to rebuild - and restaff - their police force. City Council recently approved raises for officers.

"There's kind of this boomerang of wait last year, you had people showing up at a city council meeting talking about defund the police," said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer. "This year, we have people saying, 'how can we have police appreciation events?'"