To serve and reject: Distrust, stress leave top offices in U.S. police departments empty

An anti-police sentiment among politicians that feeds off an increasingly mistrustful — and vocal — public is convincing some of the nation’s top law enforcement officials to call it quits.

Police departments in major cities across the country — including New York, Chicago, the District of Columbia and Louisville, Kentucky, — are not only seeing their top brass leave, but they’re also having a hard time finding permanent replacements, even with salaries that, in some cases, can top the mayor’s.

The leadership drain coincides with polls showing respect for law enforcement sinking.

A recent Gallup survey found just 45% of respondents had confidence in the police — the lowest law enforcement has scored in the 30 years in the poll.