Los Angeles Sheriff Criticizes COVID-19 Vaccine Mandatory for Officers

County sheriff The Angels He harshly criticized on Monday the mandatory nature of the covid-19 vaccine for his police officers, and said that because of the measure there is a risk of pushing many troops to resign or retire early.

This summer, Los Angeles County, home to about 10 million people, decreed that all its officials, including police officers, must be vaccinated against the coronavirus by October 1.

County Sheriff Alex Villanueva estimated in a news conference Monday that more than a quarter of his roughly 16,000 employees (4,185, including 3,187 police officers) were at risk of losing their jobs as a result of the decree.

“Imagine what would happen if each of them were fired,” the sheriff proposed.

“It’s sad, but (this decree) is undermining our ability to provide public safety in Los Angeles County,” he said.

While across the county’s population, 72% of residents 12 and older are vaccinated, among sheriff’s departments that rate was just 51.7% on Monday, Villanueva reported.

The same rate drops to just 42.8% among police officers. “They simply do not believe in the vaccine,” he said, adding that it is mainly due to reasons linked to his “political ideology.”

The Los Angeles sheriff, who will run for next year’s election and has recently issued more conservative statements and positions, accuses county leaders of being responsible for the situation.