Seattle police union decries end of $50,000 hiring bonuses amid officer shortage

Seattle officials have halted signing bonuses for police recruits, ending $7,500 incentives for new hires and up to $50,000 for officers transferring from other agencies due to budget uncertainty. Seattle Police Officers Guild President Kent Loux said the decision will further impede recruitment while the department is still short by at least 300 officers, with only 927 deployable officers reported. He criticized Mayor Katie Wilson for treating public safety as a lower priority.

The city defended the move as fiscally responsible, noting it has hired nearly 100 officers in the past eight months and is reviewing 3,500 applications. Interim Chief Sayles is working to clear training bottlenecks, and nearby Bellevue continues to offer a $30,000 bonus for lateral hires.