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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — City officials say there's been a surge of Boston's blue opting for a career switch into Boston's red. It's something that's becoming difficult to overlook, as City Council President Ed Flynn tells WBZ's Mike Macklin that 24 Boston police officers have left the force this year to enroll in the Boston Fire Academy, to become firefighters.
"Our police officers are overworked— they're doing an exceptional job, they're professional, but we need to make sure we treat them with respect and we need to listen to them. We desperately need more police, I've been asking to have two or three hundred hired every year consisting for the next ten years. Having police on the street is critical," Flynn said.
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Flynn declined to say why he thinks so many officers are turning in their badges. President of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association Larry Calderone said on the union's podcast "Answering the Call" that officers are overworked, understaffed, and underappreciated. Calderone called on the general public and elected city officials to thank and support their officers instead of condemn them.
"Stop this facade of defunding one day and then patting us on the back the next— the reality is we do a great job every day, we're short hundreds of police officers," Calderone said.
WBZ's Mike Macklin reports.
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