SEATTLE — There’s a new demand to end King County’s employee vaccine mandate, specifically to stop firing sheriff’s deputies over the mandate and allow people who were terminated to come back to their jobs.
Councilmember Reagan Dunn says the uptick in violence in King County — plus a severe shortage of deputies — means the mandate should be lifted. Currently, Washington state, King County, and City of Seattle employees must be fully vaccinated to work.
“I’ve never seen higher vacancies at the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO),” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn. Dunn sent a letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office on Tuesday asking for the mandate to be lifted.
“Forceful vaccine mandates that push deputies out of King County’s workforce ultimately cause more harm than good,” Dunn said in the letter. The councilmember added he’s vaccinated and boosted, and believes people who can get the shots should.
There are currently 106 open jobs at the KCSO. The Seattle Police Department is looking to hire 125 officers this year. The Seattle police chief said during a presentation to City Council Tuesday that 357 officers have left over the last two years.
“We saw an unprecedented amount of people leaving our department,” said Chief Adrian Diaz.
Dunn says the spikes in crime seen in the city and county means it’s time to end the employee vaccine mandate and allow deputies who’ve been fired to return to their previous jobs if they want.
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