NYPD manpower is heading for its lowest level in ten years after 'Blue Flight' exodus sparked by low morale from anti-cop sentiment in the wake of George Floyd's death

NYPD ranks are thinning to their lowest levels in nearly ten years as 'blue flight' is blamed on low morale from anti-cop sentiment in the wake of George Floyd's death.

The unprecedented exodus of officers comes at a time of increased gun violence in the city, NYPD Chief of Personnel Martin Morales warned on Tuesday. 

'We're living through very challenging times,' Morales said. 'We have officers retiring from all ranks, including very tenured investigators and very tenured supervisors.' 

A 'blue flight' of NYPD officers is being blamed on low morale caused by anti-police sentiment following the death of George Floyd in May. The force's ranks have been thinned to their lowest numbers in almost a decade

With the cancellation of two police academy classes, Morales added that it was unclear when the largest police force in the U.S. would grow again.

The NYPD chief blamed the so called 'blue flight' on low morale amid the anti-police sentiment in New York that has followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in May, that led to protests across the country.

A budget cut of $1 billion and plans for a $335 million in overtime have compounded the problem, Morales said. 

He also pointed to a new law that bans officers from putting pressure on someone's diaphragm for a reason behind the exodus.

As of Thursday, the NYPD force had 34,488 officers according to the New York Daily News, and while that makes it still the largest police force in the country, the numbers are down 2,567 - seven percent from last year. 

'To find a headcount that's comparable, you have to go back to 34,578 in 2011,' Morales said. 'Before that, it would be 1994.' That's just before the time the separate Transit and Housing police forces were merged into the NYPD.'

The unprecedented exodus of officers comes at a time of increased gun violence in the city, NYPD Chief of Personnel Martin Morales warned on Tuesday.

The levels of retirement from the force is also setting records, with 2,171 officers leaving the NYPD in 2020 as of Tuesday - an increase of 72 percent from the 1,262 who left during the same period in 2019.

The figure is already more than the number of officers who retired in all of 2019, which saw 1,788 hang up their badge. It is also higher than any annual total since 2010 according to the Police Benevolent Association , the city's largest police union.

Morales said that during the first five months of the year, 200 cops were retiring each month, but since Floyd's death on May 25, the monthly rate has doubled.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked outrage across the country and galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement, while also increasing calls for police reform. Pictured: BLM protesters march through New York City

June saw almost 400 retire from the force, with more than 400 in each months in July, August and September. 

But advocates for police reform in the city say that the decline in numbers should not be of a concern.

Josmar Trujillo of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College told the Daily News: 'During the Bloomberg era, the NYPD headcount went down by several thousand officers and crime went down as well.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man died on May 25 while being arrested by Minneapolis police officers. A video of his death was shared widely, sparking outrage

'There is no evidence that the size of the NYPD correlates with safety. The NYPD budget is already three times the size it was in the mid-90s. We spend too much money on police.'

But Pat Lynch, the president of the PBA, said that the loss of officers and budget cuts puts the city's residents in danger.   

'Thanks to the City Council and Mayor's "Defund the Police" lunacy, no help is coming any time soon,' he said. 'Our elected leaders need to be held responsible for the dangerous path they've chosen.'