Forty San Francisco Police Department officers who have not been vaccinated against coronavirus have been placed on leave, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit confirms.
There are 59 other unvaccinated officers who are already on leave for other reasons. Sources tell the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit if the officers return to work unvaccinated against COVID-19, they will be placed on administrative leave for termination.
That would mean a total of 99 officers who ultimately could be fired for not getting vaccinated.
As a point of reference, there are about 2,100 total officers on the force, meaning just under 5% could be fired.
The San Francisco Police Officers Union sent NBC Bay Area a statement saying, “Unfortunately, the city's rush to terminate officers will make our city less safe. The city has botched and bungled this process from the beginning, first approving all religious exemption requests and then demanding a do over to reject every religious exemption request, you simply can't make this incompetence up. San Francisco is experiencing a shooting and retail theft epidemic and fewer officers will only make things worse.
NBC Bay Area reached out to the mayor's office for comment but have not yet heard back.
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