Raleigh police officers demand 15% pay raise across the board

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Raleigh Police Union sent a strong message to the city council on Tuesday night, demanding higher pay for every officer in the department.

They said the department is losing officers to other cities and towns and it is hard to attract people to come work for RPD.

"We're talking about police officers on the street protecting this city, and without a fully staffed police department, we will not have a safe city," said Rick Armstrong of the Raleigh Police Protective Association

Retention has been an ongoing issue for the Raleigh Police Department. The Raleigh Police Protective Association told ABC11 that officers regularly work a second job in security positions as they can make more money that way. When officers leave the department for neighboring cities, it all comes down to pay.

Armstrong said there are roughly 100 vacancies in the Raleigh Police Department.

Ahead of Raleigh City Council's public comment session, dozens stood outside to push for higher pay for Raleigh police officers.

Leadership from the Raleigh Police Protective Association led the charge.

Armstrong said there are roughly 100 vacancies in the department largely because the pay is not competitive.

"Other departments right around the corner, Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Wake Forest, Garner all started a significantly higher starting pay. They also have a significantly higher top-out pay," he said.

They're asking for a 15% increase in pay for officers across the board. And this is just the beginning.

"Just a starting point that's going to put us competitive," Armstrong added. "We think we should be at the top because the, the city of Raleigh is growing and it's a much there's a much, much higher workload for Raleigh police officers as opposed to Wake Forest or Garner or some of these smaller towns."

Though ABC11 was not able to speak directly with officers who are currently serving in RPD for fear of retaliation, we did speak with 50-year law enforcement veteran and former Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison - who fully supports the request.

"The average person don't know what law enforcement's going through right now, and we need all the help we can get," Harrison said. "This country is based on law and order."

The group later made its way to council chambers - standing in support of the pay raise while the union addressed the council.

Eventually -- though not scheduled -- Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson addressed the council, saying that the city is growing at a tremendous pace.

"We're having a difficult time keeping up with that pace, having enough officers to fill our vacancies and to make sure that we are making Raleigh the safest city," Patterson said. "So, I would ask of the council, respectfully, that you will consider the fact that our salary rates right now are toward the bottom, and we'd like to equalize it to make it higher so that we can be competitive across the board."

ABC11 asked to speak to the city manager about whether 15% was an achievable ask and was told she was unavailable. The city is working to finalize the budget and deciding whether this requested pay raise for police should be included. The budget is scheduled to be released May 21.

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