Within the next few years, the San Diego Police Department is expected to go through a few changes. According to Fox affiliate KSWB, 16 percent of the members on the force are currently eligible to retire, and more than half will reach retirement within the next four years. The stats were announced by Jeff Jordan, the vice president of the San Diego Police Officers Association on April 11 as he also stated the department was struggling to retain and recruit officers. The 919 cops who are soon to qualify for retirement won't be able to leave the force immediately, however, Jordan said it is more than likely the majority of them will depart from the force within the next nine years.

Assistant Chief Shelley Zimmerman said that the majority of the departures within the past few years has been due to "economic decisions for their families," which is why the hiring environment has continued to get as competitive as it has in recent years. She added that it wasn't the fact that the department wasn't offering them enough money, but more of the fact that they were able to make more if they moved to different cities.

"It wasn't necessarily for salary, what they kept telling us it was for take-home pay," Zimmerman said. "Literally, they could change a uniform - didn't necessarily have to sell their house to go to another local agency - just change their uniform, and in some cases they're making $1,100 more a month."

SDPD officer involved in serious car accident
One of the department's current officers was recently involved in a fiery collision and is recovering from his injuries at a local hospital. According to NBC San Diego, SDPD Officer Dan Lasher told the source the police officer was able to get out of his vehicle safely before he was taken to the hospital. The California Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident, and have yet to determine the cause of the accident and which vehicle caught fire first.

"He was conscious and talking at the scene, but they were talking about a possible head injury, so he was taken to a local hospital to be checked out," he said.

There was at least one other individual transported to the hospital from the scene who may have sustained life-threatening injuries.