Fired For Not Being Vaxxed: Seattle Fire and Police Turn In Their Boots, Then Feed Homeless

Though the majority of Washington state employees have complied with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, some public employees in Seattle who didn't comply walked up the steps of city hall to turn in their belongings on Tuesday.

The mandate that Gov. Jay Inslee announced in August requires most state and health care workers and school employees to get vaccinated or lose their jobs, KING 5 News reports. Employees can apply for a medical or religious exemption, but there is no testing option.

By 11:59 p.m. Monday, all Seattle city employees have to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and as of Monday morning, 94% of the city’s 11,000 employees had been vaccinated, and an additional 5% had filed paperwork to be exempted from the order. The remaining 150, or about 1%, had not yet complied, the Seattle Times reports.

On Tuesday morning, the Washington State Patrol will lose 127 civil servants and commissioned officers because of the vaccine mandate. This includes 67 troopers, six sergeants and one captain, according to a release per KING 5 News.

Many Seattle firefighters and police officers fired for not complying with the vaccine mandate then went out and fed the homeless, Katie Daviscourt reports.

KING 5 reports that as of Monday, 98% of Seattle police employees were either vaccinated or were granted exemptions and 24 employees had not submitted their paperwork. About 99% of Seattle Fire employees met the mandate and 16 people have not submitted paperwork.

Citywide, 99% of Seattle's 11,000 employees complied with the mandate — which includes 94% of employees being vaccinated with 5% receiving exemptions — according to the mayor's office.