Gov. Ron DeSantis to offer $5,000 bonuses to officers who relocate to Florida after being fired for vaccine mandates

Gov. DeSantis of Florida stated Monday a plan to offer $5,000 bonuses to law enforcement officers who relocate to Florida after being fired due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. 

This comes after police officers and other city employees in cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco and New York City are mandating the requirement of getting the vaccine. This legislation comes in reference to low morale of those in law enforcement, while DeSantis has backed the blue since 2020 as outrage occurred across the nation over racial injustice and police brutality. Meanwhile, police unions in Seattle, Chicago and Baltimore have resisted vaccine mandates of requirements in regards to vaccination status.

DeSantis has been vocal about its opposition to Occupational Safety and Heath Administration’s (OSHA) vaccine rule for large employers or corporations as well as Biden’s vaccine mandate, stating it is unconstitutional to require such mandates. DeSantis has stated he will convene a special session of the Florida state legislature to block the vaccine mandates imposed by federal and local governments (New York Post).

Dr. Fauci has made statements on how police officers should be vaccinated. He stated on a Fox News Sunday interview in October, “More police officers die of COVID than they do in other causes of death, so it doesn’t make any sense to not try to protect yourself as well as the colleagues that you work with.”