6 Seattle Officers Out, Dozens On Leave After Vaccine Deadline

Seattle WA

19 October, 2021

5:54 PM

Description

SEATTLE — Several Seattle police officers will soon be out of a job and dozens are on leave after the Monday deadline passed for city employees to show proof they were fully vaccinated, obtain an exemption, or face termination. In a news release Tuesday afternoon, SPD said all but a half-dozen employees submitted their immunization forms or had accommodations for exemptions pending by the deadline. The department said the separation process was underway for the six, which includes a mandatory Loudermill hearing before the chief. Another 103 employees, including sworn officers and a few civilians, sought medical or religious exemptions and will remain on leave using accrued time off while police leadership determines if accommodations can be made for each case. SPD said individual decisions on "when and whether they will be allowed to return to work" will be finalized in the weeks ahead. Earlier in the month, interim police chief Adrian Diaz said his department had several contingency plans in place to adjust staffing as needed. The department said Tuesday the recent departures and officers on leave added to the strain from earlier staffing losses. "While we work to reach 100% vaccination compliance within the Seattle Police Department, there may be some impacts to our service levels, especially given our loss in staffing over the past two years," SPD wrote. "To that end, the department has developed a series of plans to provide the best level of service, including augmenting patrol staffing with officers from the Community Response Group first, before detectives and other non-patrol sworn employees are asked to return to the streets." Overall, Seattle saw widespread compliance with its mandate for city employees. In an update shared Tuesday morning, the mayor's office said just 97 employees of the 11,250 on the city's payroll failed to provide proof of vaccination or file exemption paperwork across all departments. The Seattle Police Department logged a 92 percent vaccination rate, while Seattle Fire reported 93 percent compliance.