A significant portion of the public response to the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, MN while under arrest by Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin has been highly critical of that police force and others across the country. This criticism has been blamed for much higher than normal retirements and leaves of absence in many police departments, leaving them critically understaffed and unable to maintain public order, as explained here.
Oddly, no one has advanced a solution to this problem that currently exists in another context.
According to Title 10. Subtitle A. Part II. Chapter 39. Section 688 of U.S. Code, Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, a member described in subsection (b) may be ordered to active duty by the Secretary of the military department concerned at any time.
This means that retired officers are subject to return to active duty status if the Defense Department so requires. The US Air Force has been considering the recall of retired pilots to fill their own requirements.
Most public employee contracts allow retirement after 20 years service. A college graduate working as a police officer could theoretically retire at age 44 or younger. Since these retirees are already trained and experienced in law enforcement, it only makes sense that the union contracts they work under include stipulations that they can be recalled to service in the event of an emergency, just as the law applies to military officers and Navy enlisted men.
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