San Diego lawmakers pass vaccine mandate for city employees, police

San Diego lawmakers passed a coronavirus vaccine mandate for city employees and police force members on Monday, despite facing pushback from the police union.

In a 8-1 vote, the city mandated all city employees show proof of vaccination or request an exemption by Wednesday, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Employees who don’t comply with the mandate within 30 days will be fired.

Chris Crate, the only council member to vote “no” on the mandate, said in a Twitter thread that he is worried about the number of police officers the city could potentially lose.

“Considering how emergency services can currently keep people waiting for up to an hour and a half, we cannot allow the situation to further devolve,” Crate said, adding he believes negative police interactions would increase with a drop in officers.

City data showed around 709 officers, about 37 percent of the police force, are still unvaccinated as of last week, according to the Times. 

The San Diego Police Officers Association was the only labor group not able to come to an agreement with the city. 

The police union wanted the option for officers to get tested for the virus instead of vaccinated, progressive discipline and an appeals process for denied exemptions. The city said no to all of it. 

City officials in favor of the mandate said it is necessary to keep residents and employees safe. 

It is unclear if the mandate will get challenged in court, as many other coronavirus vaccine mandates in the country have. 

The Hill has reached out to the police union for comment.