As the Delta variant of Covid surges in Colorado, the city of Denver instituted mandatory vaccinations for city workers to prevent the spread of the disease. Denver's police union says that police will refuse to do so—"Officers should be trusted to make their own choices"—and nearly 6 in 10 of them are unvaccinated. About half of the cops dying are dying of Covid—infections they spread to other people.
The survey included about 780 officers. It found 446 or 57% have not received the COVID-19 vaccine. The survey didn't ask why they weren't vaccinated but it did ask if they would get vaccinated as a condition of employment. A total of 558 or 72% of those surveyed said they would not. Robinson says officers are already required to get many other vaccinations, "Frankly, we're not telling people that they can't make the decision not to get vaccinated. What we're saying is, if you want to work in the City and County of Denver, you will get vaccinated. Public health law is law and so if my personnel decide not to do so, it is a conscious decision and I will take disciplinary action. This vaccine is not about us as individuals, this is about us as a whole, making a difference so that we can make sure our public is safe."
Proof of vaccination won't be required for months, so the policy is a dead letter anyway. The police in Denver have no effective civilian oversight: "Stop quoting laws to us, we are armed", as Magnus Pompey put it.
