Cops are leaving the Detroit Police Department at an alarming rate, their union says.
Mark Diaz: "How are we going to compete?"
Since Jan. 1, the Detroit Police Officers Association union has lost 117 officers — an average of 4.5 per week — many of whom have gone to other cities for higher pay and improved benefits, president Mark Diaz tells George Hunter of The Detroit News.
That news comes as the union and city are negotiating to extend a contract that was signed during the city's bankruptcy. The contract expires in 2020.
Diaz says:
"I'm glad the city is trying to hire officers, but we need to retain the ones who are here. Just yesterday, I lost an officer to Warren. He has 19 years and a month at DPD. Had he stuck around 11 more months, he would've gotten a full pension. But he opted out.
"He was making $57,000 here; in Warren, they paid him $78,000 off the bat. How are we going to compete with that?"
