After a year of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the city of Portland, Oregon, is grappling with an increasingly disgruntled police force amid an uptick in violent crime and continued calls to defund law enforcement agencies.

City leaders have scrambled to address both staffing shortages within the police department and reform demands by activists, walking a tightrope between those calling for a return to the status quo and others pushing for a demilitarized police department.

Last week, 50 police officers who volunteered for the city’s specialized crowd control unit resigned en masse from the rapid response team, citing a lack of support from city leaders. The move to disband the unit came one day after Portland Officer Cody Budworth was indicted and accused of striking a protester in the head last summer with a baton. It marked the first time a city police officer faced prosecution over striking or firing at someone during a protest, the Oregonian reported.

“I don’t think it is just an indictment that caused this to happen. I think it is a very long complicated history of things that have gone on over the last 14 months,” acting Portland Police Chief Chris Davis told reporters last week of the resignations.

But Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who oversees the city’s fire and rescue operations, said she opposes volunteer units and would prefer to recruit the best trained officers for specialized assignments.

“I’m not interested in adding people from what I consider is a very dysfunctional culture,” she said. “Why are we recruiting sharpshooters instead of people who grew up in the neighborhoods?”