Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said Tuesday that 21 officers have been placed in “unpaid status” for refusing to comply with the city’s order to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status.
Brown stated that these refusals have not affected the number of personnel on duty.
Brown, who revealed that three members of his own family opposed to vaccination have died from complications of the virus in recent weeks, said that he is only trying to protect officers and citizens from any danger.
“This virus is no different from the shots we get as police officers,” he said. “It would go against our oath to bring this virus into the home.”
Although the police department lags behind other city departments in meeting the requirement to report vaccination status, Brown said more agency employees had entered their status in recent days.
So far, 67% of police officers have entered their vaccination status, of which 82% are fully vaccinated, Brown said.
The dispute between the union and the city has escalated and both parties have taken the matter to court.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot accuses the police union and its president of spreading misinformation about the notification process. This consists of requesting the vaccination status and a temporary period of regular COVID-19 tests is allowed, at the employee’s own expense, until the vaccines can be administered.
The union’s president, John Catanzara, maintains that the order to provide information to the portal is a violation of the agents’ constitutional rights and the rights stipulated in the union’s contract with the city.
The police union’s website again instructed its members on Tuesday not to comply with the order, but has also offered an option to comply with it by filling out a form stating that they do so “under complete duress and threats of dismissal.”
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