Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva revealed today that only 42.8% of his department’s sworn deputies have been vaccinated against the virus that causes Covid-19. Countywide, 72% of eligible …
The rest of the LASD’s roughly 16,000 employees, made up of professional civilian staff, have a
The Sheriff said last month that, based on budget cuts and employee reluctance, “we have to pick and choose,” which mandates from the Board to enforce. It’s an interesting stance since the Board of Supervisors, effectively, oversees Villanueva’s department. Villanueva also claimed that 102 employees have filed for early retirement, 238 have given notice that they are leaving the department and more than 300 have submitted workers’ compensation claims. The sheriff asserted that the departures were a direct result of the vaccine mandate, which went into effect over a month ago.
The sheriff has repeatedly criticized the mandate, even while insisting that he is personally vaccinated and believes the vaccines are safe. He lashed out at the Board of Supervisors — which whom he has repeatedly clashed on various issues since taking office — accusing them of enacting the mandate without considering the consequences in terms of losing public safety personnel.