KING COUNTY, Wash. — Months after the deadline for King County’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, County Councilmember Reagan Dunn is raising the issue again when it comes to sheriff’s deputies.
Dunn sent a letter Tuesday urging county leadership to make changes to the mandate for county employees after at least 39 deputies were fired over the mandate, with another 10 deputies awaiting accommodation rulings.
The now 39 vacant positions are among the 106 total available deputy positions at the King County Sheriff’s Office, Dunn said.
The council member argues that with violent crime on a steep incline across the county, it is not time to force deputies to get vaccinated as a condition of their employment.
“We are currently in the midst of a public safety crisis and are desperate to hire more deputies as violent crime surges and communities across King County suffer under a shortage of law enforcement services,” Dunn wrote in his letter to county Chief of Staff April Putney.
The prosecutor’s office released a report last year showing an uptick in gun violence across the region for 2021, with incidents more than doubling compared to the four-year average from 2017-2020.
Dunn also argued that the majority of recent COVID cases have been in fully vaccinated and boosted individuals.
However, the Public Health—Seattle & King County says those not fully vaccinated are about three times more likely to catch the virus than boosted individuals and 24 times more likely to be hospitalized than boosted individuals.
"The goal of the employee vaccine mandate from the beginning has been to protect our workforce and our community," Chase Gallagher, a spokesperson for the King County Executive's office, wrote in a statement to KING 5. "Requiring vaccination means more employees are protected from these severe risks, and the most recent numbers have more than 94% of the Sheriff’s Office employees following the vaccination mandate. COVID killed more than 450 police officers across the country in 2021, and we know the best way to prevent that number from increasing is with the safe, effective COVID vaccine."
Gallagher added that the sheriff’s office is working to fill their vacancies as fast as possible, with recruitment bonuses of up to $15,000 for lateral hires.
"Any employee who wishes to return to public service in King County may be able to do so provided they meet the requirements of employment, which is to provide proof of vaccination," Gallagher wrote.
Dunn said he hopes county leadership will up efforts to encourage voluntary vaccination and recognize that forceful vaccinations "ultimately cause more harm than good."