Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4032 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: APRIL 2016 I n Colorado Springs, Colorado, striking numbers of officers have left or retired re- cently. Many of those moving on say that police work has just become too dangerous and the public no longer supports local law enforce- ment. Former Colorado Springs police Commander Fletcher Howard retired not long ago after 38 years with the department. He says it’s a whole new ballgame out there. Animosity towards law enforcement and a culture of violence has officers in the area on edge. “When you give your oath of office, you don’t re- ally think, ‘Well, I’m going into this profession to go to battle every day.’ We’re not military officers that are stationed overseas, where that’s what you’re going to encounter quite a bit be- cause you’re in a wartime situation,” Howard said. “It’s just a very tough job now.” According to a recent article in the Gazette, a whop- ping 52 officers left the force in 2015. Eleven of those officers resigned Oct. 31 or later. The reasons theofficersgave for leaving are many but there are common themes. M a n y o f- ficers say that increased vio- lence against law enforce- ment is the reason they’re getting out. Many say that officers have been struggling to deal with the aftermath of two area mass shootings that closed out the year. Two Colorado police of- ficers were shot and killed in 2015. More recently, Park Coun- ty Sheriff’s Corporal Nate Carrigan was shot and killed while helping serve an evic- tion order. Two deputies were also injured. A week prior to that, Mesa County Deputy Derek Geer was gunned down while try- ing to question a 17-year-old who authorities said was walking down a street car- rying a firearm and wearing a bandana over his face. Prior to that, Officer Gar- rett Swasey of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was killed while re- sponding to a shooting at the city’s Planned Parenthood clinic. Five officers were also injured. “I think officers are really more concerned for their safety because you never know what you’re going to walk into,” Howard said. “You can’t take matters rou- tinely like you used to.” Between all the violence and hostility, many offi- cers in Colorado are asking themselves if the job is worth it. For Brett Lentz the answer was no. Lentz worked at the Colo- rado Springs P.D. for less than two years when he decided it was too danger- ous and left. He resigned 10 days after the Planned Parenthood shooting. “Over the last six months, police departments and law enforcement personnel have become a target of the media and several political institu- tions. “I chose not to continue in this line of work as the risk to me and my family has be- come too high and there is too much to lose,” Lentz wrote in his resignation letter. Many officers gave similar reasons for leaving. Police spokeswoman Lt. Catherine Buckley says it’s true that there have been a lot of departures recently. But she says the idea that so many cops simply decid- ed they couldn’t handle the danger associated with the job all at once is a stretch. Buckley doesn’t deny they have had some officers who have decided police work isn’t for them, but she says others have returned to mili- tary service or transferred to another department. Some have left for higher paying gigs in the private sector. “When you become an of- ficer, and take that oath, you understand there are those risks and there are dangers,” Buckley told reporters. “It’s something that I signed up for and that we all know is a possibility.” Curiously, the hostility towards law enforcement that many officers cited as a reason for leaving appears to be pretty mild compared to other locations. A Denver-based group, headed by Ron MacLach- lan called the Pro Police Rally Colorado contends that support for local law enforcement from the Colo- rado Springs community is sky-high. MacLachlan says citizen satisfaction surveys typically produce a 90 percent posi- tive rating. But for many, including former Colorado Springs Commander Fletcher How- ard, it’s a whole new ball- game and not anything any- one can remember that’s like the past. “You just never know what you’re going to get yourself into nowadays,” Howard said. “Officers really, really have to watch their back.” Officers feeling blue and are now leaving in droves Older officers saying “war on cops” explains the incredibly low morale Jefferson County, Colorado Sheriff’s deputies speak to one another in Bailey, Colorado during an investigation in a nearby home. The tight-knit Colorado mountain community mourned a sheriff’s deputy who was shot and killed while serving an eviction order. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) If this is what it’s like in a “pro-cop” community, just imagine what it’s like elsewhere, where residents and police don’t see eye to eye.