LAPD officer fired for violating COVID vaccine mandate, 7 terminations pending

One Los Angeles Police Department officer has been fired for violating the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and termination proceedings are underway for seven others, LAPD Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala said Tuesday.

Girmala told the Los Angeles Police Commission that 10,216 LAPD employees, or 82.9% of the department, are fully vaccinated, a half-percent are partially vaccinated, and 16.6% are unvaccinated.

She added that 460 employees have filed for medical exemptions and 1,831 have filed for religious exemptions from the mandate.

One person who was not vaccinated was terminated after a board of rights process, and seven other terminations are pending, Girmala said.

The vaccination mandate was approved by the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Eric Garcetti and passed on Aug. 18. All city employees were required to be fully vaccinated by Dec. 18 or apply for a religious or medical exemption, which is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Exempted employees must submit to weekly testing at the city’s expense.

Employees have five business days to file an appeal if their exemption is denied. If they do not appeal the decision, they are issued a notice that they must submit proof of vaccination. Failure to do so results in “corrective action.”

According to the mandate, employees who do not comply are able to either resign or retire “all in good standing in lieu of discipline.” Those employees are eligible to be rehired if they get vaccinated or if the vaccination order is lifted, according to the requirement.

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