Sheriff Alex Villanueva is concerned for the public’s safety as the COVID-19 vaccination mandate is causing a “mass exodus” of deputies in Los Angeles County, officials said.
“As homicides continued to rise, the Board of Supervisors voted to require all Los Angeles County employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face discipline, up to and including termination,” Villanueva said in a social media post Thursday. “The Board’s vaccination mandate is causing a mass exodus within the Department, which is an absolutely absurd result.”
In the past, Villanueva has stated the dangers to public safety when 20 to 30 percent of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) workforce is no longer available to provide service, and those dangers are quickly becoming a reality.
“We are experiencing an increase in unscheduled retirements, worker compensation claims, employees quitting and a reduction in qualified applicants,” Villanueva said. “As a result, homicide rates will continue to rise, response times will increase, solve rates will diminish, arrests will decline, patrol services will significantly decline and patrol stations will close.”
A “large” part of the LASD workforce who are close to retirement found it easier to simply retire, than be forced into a decision which should be a personal choice, Villanueva said.
“Other personnel who were called ‘heroes’ for diligently working in service to the community during the pandemic, while other professions stayed home, have decided to finally get those surgeries they have been putting off for injuries sustained throughout their careers knees, shoulders, back etc,” Villanueva said.
This unintended consequence to public safety was predictable, the Sheriff said in his Facebook post.
“In the near future, unless something changes, the ‘defunded’ and ‘de-staffed’ Sheriff’s Department will no longer be able to sustain the staffing levels required to maintain public safety at the status quo,” Villanueva said. “My personnel already wear masks and would submit to routine COVID-19 testing, so termination makes no sense. Personally, I am vaccinated and believe the vaccine works, but the choice to receive the vaccine is a personal one, and an individual who served the community tirelessly before there was a vaccine should not now be fired because they made a decision about their own body.”
The Sheriff is encouraging residents that have an opinion on this matter, to call the Board of Supervisors and voice it.
“With the pandemic diminishing, there is no justification for the Board mandate; it is like putting up the storm windows after the storm has passed,” Villanueva said.
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