Dilemma

[jgonz]

Hello,
so I currently work for an agency in Oregon and we’ve been mandated to get the jab by 10/18. I’m not anti jab. There just isn’t enough research for the long term affects of either vaccine. I’m going to make the best decision for my family and I. So I won’t be getting the jab and more likely than not I’ll be terminated. In your professional opinion - as an applicant does it look bad for me that I resigned and didn’t get the jab to other depts?

thank you

James

[BNWS]

Do you have to explain why you're resigning?

[jgonz]

I’m not sure. It’s actually for a department that I’m applying with. So, like they’re gonna ask why did I leave the agency and I’m going to say in substance I didn’t agree with the jab mandate. Does that sound bad? I can totally BS the question but then that’s an integrity issue. I’m just looking for advice for when that question comes up “ why did you leave your last agency”

[Iowa #1603]

I guess you do what you have to do and take the consequences.....however that goes down.

New territory and NO ONE knows how it will end up

[Bing_Oh]

I'm not sure it necessarily sounds...good. There are many opinions on the vaccine, whether to take or not take it, and particularly "mandatory" vaccination. In any hiring process, you're going to run into people with these varying opinions, so it's something of a crap shoot.

Whether it sounds "bad" in hiring is maybe not as much about the vaccine and your not wanting it, but the impression that you may be a "problem child" from an administrator standpoint when it comes to directions and policies. No matter the hiring authority's personal opinion on the vaccination, I'm betting the question of "will they buck if *I* tell them to do something that don't want to do?" is going to go through the back of their heads. There are more than a few admin in LE who don't like officers with strong personal opinions (especially if they may contradict their own).

You obviously have a strong opinion on this particular subject (strong enough to lose your job over it), so you're also going to have to accept that there are likely to be negative repercussions in finding future employment related to your decision. It's bound to happen, especially with such a (unfortunately) polarizing subject. Best of luck.

[jgonz]

Thank you for the reply. This is obviously the toughest decision I have ever had to make.

[not.in.MY.town]

jgonz If this is the toughest decision you've ever had to make then you're one lucky guy.

[L-1]

I think you are going to look like a bit of a nut case to other agencies and more than likely they will take a pass on you.

One of the things they will considers is, what steps did you take to quantify the risk of taking the the vaccine to the risks to your health, safety and life you routinely accept as a citizen every time you walk outside the door of your house every day?

Many years ago the California Highway Patrol published a study called "An Evaluation of Risk - Initial Cause vs. Final Outcome Of Police Pursuits." It looked at the risk of death created by police pursuits (4 million to one) and compared them to the risks of death and injury we voluntarily subject ourselves to every day when we walk out the door of our homes. It pointed out that that every time a citizen walks out the door, they have a 1 in 87 chance of being a victim of a violent crime, 1 in 101 chance of being injured in a traffic accident, 1 in 164 chance of being an aggravated assault victim, 1 in 251 chance of being a robbery victim, 1 in 739 chance of being injured in a DUI crash, 1 in 2,701 chance of being a rape victim, 1 in 7,625 chance of being killed in a traffic crash, and 1 in 7,752 chance of being a murder victim.

With that in mind, how many of the hundreds of millions of people who have had the COVID vaccination, have then had a significantly permanent adverse reaction. Is yours a bare fear with no real basis other than "what if" or can you articulate a reasonable and substantial basis for declining?

I think you are talking yourself into the "I used to be a cop" phase of your life.

[CCCSD]

Not well thought out nor a good idea.
BK is hiring.

[not.in.MY.town]

Hello,
so I currently work for an agency in Oregon and we’ve been mandated to get the jab by 10/18. I’m not anti jab. There just isn’t enough research for the long term affects of either vaccine. I’m going to make the best decision for my family and I. So I won’t be getting the jab and more likely than not I’ll be terminated. In your professional opinion - as an applicant does it look bad for me that I resigned and didn’t get the jab to other depts?

thank you

James

The "best decision for your family" is for you to refuse the vaccine, lose your income, and tank your career?

Hmmm.

As an administrator, I would wonder what other questionable decisions you might make on the job. I couldn't trust your judgment, and I would question your commitment to the job. Policing isn't a "me me me" type of job.

[just joe]

How many officers and firefighters have died as a result of taking the vaccine? How many police officers and firefighters have died who have refused to take the vaccine? Hmmm....

Straight up, I think you are being an idiot.

As a senior member of the hiring board, I echo my colleagues' concerns about what else you are going to kick on if you don't like it.

[Ratatatat]

You could always work for a SO on the east side of the state. Both Malheur and Harney county sheriff's are giving the bird to Gov Brown:

AROUND OREGON: Malheur County sheriff calls out governor, won't enforce mandates and will challenge new ones | Salem Reporter

As luck would have it, Harney County SO is accepting applications for road patrol right now:

FORM HCJ005-01 (harney.or.us)

There's a link at Broadcasity for the county-wide dispatch, which covers 10,000 square miles and the 20 officers from Burns PD, Hines PD, sheriff, OSP, and Burns Tribal police.

Harney County Oregon Live Audio Feeds (broadcastify.com)

There's a long-running mystery involving multilated livestock in the area and I'm sure they could use an experienced officer to give the investigation a fresh set of eyes...

Mysterious cattle mutilations continue in Central and Eastern Oregon | News | bluemountaineagle.com

[PeteBroccolo]

Get FULLY vaccinated for COVID, and regularly for flu.

Yes, you will look like a fool for RESIGNING in order to AVOID getting vaccinated then applying elsewhere.

PS: if you are mandated to wear a mask, whether by your employer, any business you are trying to deal with, or ANYWHERE you are trying to enter, DO SO.

[moparfan]

Guess you haven't seen this

https://www.officer.com/command-hq/supplies-services/healthcare/news/21237666/ore-city-cant-force-police-officers-to-get-vaccine

[SOCAleo]

I concur with the others on here about how the optics will look. But, if you have a strong conviction about not getting the vaccine, then check deeply into your health profile and see if there is anything there that would cause further medical issues if you were to have received the vaccine. Health issues such as tachycardia, high blood pressure, heart issues of some sort, immunocompromised, GBS and Bells Palsy are some examples of health problems that even the CDC recognize as issues adversely affecting patients who received the vaccine.

If there is, get your doctor to attest to the adverse affects and submit a medical exemption request to your department. Or, if you are religious and that is why you do not want to get the vaccine, try and request a religious exemption.

If you are denied, let them fire you (you were going to quit anyway), and take your case to an attorney.

My advise has always been this, stick to your convictions, no matter the consequences. Sometimes there is real pain with that philosophy, but it is worth it.

Another idea, apply to be a cop in states like Florida or Texas, where they are fining businesses for forcing the vaccine.

States have rights and the Federal government can only push compliance so far. The problem though is they push anyway and it takes the Supreme Court a long time to put them back in their place.

We shall see where this will all go in the end. But I have a feeling you are not alone in this.

Good luck brotha!

[COMoparfan392]

I was about to ask…uh…wouldn’t the answer to the OPs question vary wildly if he were applying in another state? Not all areas are treating the vaccines the same way.

[SOCAleo]

Yep, just lateral out to another state. Shoot, Gov Desantis from Florida just proposed a 5K hiring bonus for Florida Highway Patrol Officers. And, Desantis also gave a 1K state pandemic bonus (stimulus) check to all law enforcement .

[Arctic Road Toad]

The Alaska State Troopers have announced a $20,000 hiring bonus. Plus no talk of forced vaccines.

[Aidokea]

I'm gonna go with the "nut" answers...

[angeredmgmt]

I wasn't going out of my way to get the vaccinations, and my desire was to get it after the masses got theirs, if at all. I was at a local Walmart when the pharmacy put it out over the intercom that they had immediate walkups for the Moderna vaccination, so I said "what the heck." I may have waited longer, and of course, like many others, wanted to see if I could wait-out the pandemic as to not need the vaccinations in the first place. I later realized that this isn't going away anytime soon, if at all in my lifetime.

That decision to get it was also related to the knowledge I was going back into LE, and I knew I was going to be dealing with a lot of infected persons. I'm glad I did because I hear calls all day for EMS to respond to calls with varying levels of distress due to COVID-19 infection. So far, I've only done one death report, but I've responded as an assisting unit to others. Even though it appears business as usual in my area, there are still a lot of people really sick and dying from this probably man-altered virus, which was probably intentionally released.

I would like to say that I don't care if people get vaccinated or not, but I want it to be conscious choice for them one way or another. The politics of this pandemic frack up everything, and the "we-are-here-to-help.gov" types are infamously known to not want to give up any power they have attained. My advice, for what it is worth, is to attempt to greatly filter the politics of this entire mess that it has become and make your decision. It wasn't too hard for me since I was in reasonably good health and I could see that there were very few reported complications - I simply played the odds.