As Puerto Rico continues to recover from Hurricane Maria, thousands of police officers are calling in sick daily in protest of unpaid overtime.
An average of 550 police officers are absent every day across Puerto Rico, which has one of the largest police departments under U.S. jurisdiction with more than 13,000 officers overall, but recently, more than 2,700 officers on average have been absent daily, according to The Associated Press.
Police Chief Michelle Hernandez recommended that U.S. National Guard soldiers help fill the temporary vacancies when the absences began to build up, but administration of Gov. Ricardo Rossello on Wednesday rejected the idea.
Public Affairs Secretary Ramon Rosario told the news outlet that the government has made nearly $15 million in overtime payments to officers since Hurricane Maria hit and $6.4 million is set to be distributed Saturday.
"There are a lot of police officers who are not showing up," he said. "We are trying to address all demands to encourage these police officers to return to their jobs."
The department's chief said the officers are owed an additional $35 million in overtime pay, but said that it is still tallying attendance sheets to determine the exact amount.
Hernandez said that officers also are upset about other changes amid Puerto Rico's economic crisis, including smaller pensions and an end of payments for unused sick days.
"They feel in a way cheated in the past 15 years in terms of benefits," she said.
