The NYPD is still hemorrhaging cops.
Ever-growing exodus figures show 2,465 police officers have filed to leave the department this year — 42% more than the 1,731 who exited at the same time last year, according to the latest pension fund stats obtained by The Post.
More disturbing is the fact that the number of cops hanging up their holsters early — before reaching 20 years for a full pension — has skyrocketed 71% this year from the year before (1,098 from 641).
NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said the so-called “voluntary quits” are driving the “stampede” — and not a big academy class that graduated in 2022, as claimed last month by Chief of Department Kenneth Corey.
“We have had retirement waves caused by large academy classes before — they were nothing like this,” said Lynch.
“This exodus is the result of cops in the prime of their careers deciding they have had enough. … The NYPD should stop trying to explain this staffing crisis away. Admit there’s a problem and help us fix it,” he said.
In June, The Post reported that more than 1,500 officers had either resigned or retired.
Officers usually work 20 years or more to collect their full pension, which can equate to 50% of their final three years’ average salary.
Being New York’s Finest has lost its luster for many of the rank and file, who have endured anti-cop hostility, bail reform, rising crime and the city’s vaccination mandate — currently on pause.
Ticked-off members are taking other civil service tests and heading to police departments in Long Island and other suburbs or out of state, or joining the better-paying Port Authority PD.
“They are leaving for other opportunities where they’re paid better, treated better and have a better quality of life,” Lynch said.
Dave, who asked that his last name not be used, was a 30-year-old Queens cop when he quit this summer to take a private-sector gig after only seven years on the job. He said he was fed up with the “oppressive work environment.”
“As soon as I left, I felt a huge weight off my shoulders,” he said. “And the sad part is that the job doesn’t need to be this way. I hear it all the time from friends who went to other police departments. They say, ‘They treat me like an adult here.’”