COVID-19
Law Enforcement Enthusiastically Taking Gov DeSantis Up On Offer to Relocate to Florida
Last week DeSantis offered security to first responders stating, “no cop, no firefighter, no nurse, nobody should be losing their jobs because of these jabs.”
While anti-law enforcement rhetoric and calls to defund the police plague our nation, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is doing the opposite. Thus far at least a dozen NYPD officers have taken DeSantis up on his offer to move to Florida where they will be welcomed with open arms; and a little bit of extra cash.
Governor DeSantis recently announced he would be introducing legislation to gift a $5,000 bonus for all out-of-state cops who relocate to the sunshine state. In May DeSantis gave all first responders in the state a $1,000 pandemic bonus; drastically different treatment than those states that are firing first responders over their vaccination status.
Last week DeSantis offered security to first responders stating, “no cop, no firefighter, no nurse, nobody should be losing their jobs because of these jabs.” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, however, will not back down from his executive-order vaccine mandate, which “has been the latest trigger for some cops amid what they describe as a hostile legal, social and political environment” writes the New York Post.
A spokesperson for the National Association of Police Organizations said that while there is little data tracking on law enforcement moving between states, but there is significant “anecdotal evidence” that suggests cops are fleeing blue states like New York.
“Many New York City cops are weighing our sub-standard salary against the ever-increasing challenges, scrutiny and abuse, and they’re voting with their feet,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch told The Post.
“They don’t even need to go all the way to Florida. There are many better-paying police departments in and around NYC, and they’re hiring,” said Lynch. “We certainly don’t blame anybody for leaving. But New York City needs to wake up,” said Lynch.
While the PBA union does not keep track of where each individual moves to, Florida has been very high on the list, sources have said. Additionally, cops are quitting even before their 20-year retirement period. The number more than doubled in 2021 compared to 2020 (1,051 vs. 509).
The Army only approved just 24 religious COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests out of a total 8,514 requests submitted by active duty soldiers, and 1,602 requests have been rejected while the rest remain pending.
Military.com obtained information showing the Pentagon rushed vaccine exemption denials:
Sean O’Donnell, the Pentagon’s inspector general, wrote in a June 2 memo to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin obtained by Military.com calling attention to a “concerning” trend in which military brass rushed to reject vaccine-exemption petitions rather than giving each request due consideration.
“We found a trend of generalized assessments rather than the individualized assessment that is required by Federal law and DoD and Military Service policies,” he said. “Some of the appellate decisions included documentation that demonstrated a greater consideration of facts and circumstances involved in a request.”
In March, a Texas judge blocked the Navy from dismissing sailors with pending exemption requests and in August, a Florida federal judge ordered class action relief and granted an injunction barring the federal government from enforcing the vaccine mandate for the Marine Corps.
National Review writes, “For the last year, military has been struggling with a recruitment problem. As of July, with only three months left in the fiscal year, the Army had met only 40 percent of its recruitment goal and reduced its active-duty force by 12,000 troops.”
O’Donnell calculated that officials likely gave each appeal a cursory glance rather than a thorough examination, possibly opening the door to litigation from service members who had to resign after they failed to obtain exemptions. Across all the branches, there were about 50 denials per day in a 90-day period, he determined. Over a thousand Coast Guardsmen have already tried to launch a class-action lawsuit in response to their being refused religious exemptions, the publication noted.
“The volume and rate at which decisions were made to deny requests is concerning,” the memo read. “Assuming a 10-hour work day with no breaks or attention to other matters, the average review period was about 12 minutes for each package. Such a review period seems insufficient to process each request in an individualized manner and still perform the duties required of their position.”
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