NY Supreme Court Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order for NYPD Detective Facing Vaccine Mandate

Firefighters rally against vaccine mandates outside Mayor Bill de Blasio's residence in Manhattan, New York, on Oct. 28, 2021. (Enrico Trigoso/The Epoch Times)

A Supreme Court of the State of New York judge issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, pausing the vaccine mandate for the plaintiff, NYPD Detective Anthony Marciano, and “all other individuals similarly situated.”

The mandate was imposed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Oct. 20, replacing what was originally a requirement to get the vaccine or be tested weekly for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus that causes COVID-19.

The document states that de Blasio, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Dave Chokshi, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, New York City’s Board of Health, and the city of New York are “restrained from enforcing” the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers and certain city contractors.

The plaintiff’s attorney, Patricia Finn, represents health care workers, students subject to mask mandates, the NYPD, and others.

“We’re very happy and the judge made the right decision and we’re looking forward to more favorable rulings,” Finn told The Epoch Times.

“It’s a huge win,” she responded when asked if she believed it was a particularly significant win.

The next legal step will be a preliminary injunction hearing, and it’s not currently clear if others will be affected by the ruling and what actions the city will take.

Before the hearing on Tuesday, the mayor’s office disputed that the mandate had been blocked.

“This is NOT TRUE,” The mayor’s press secretary, Danielle Filson, wrote on Twitter on Dec 7. “The mandate has not been blocked. The Judge has not come to a decision, and won’t until the argument date.”

The city’s Law Department said in a statement after the hearing: “Unlike every other court that has considered the question, a single judge appears to have issued a TRO prohibiting the City from putting a single police officer who refuses to be vaccinated on leave without pay,” Bloomberg reported.

Under the mandate, NYPD officers and other municipal workers who failed to get their first COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 29 have been on unpaid leave since Nov. 1.

Anti-vaccine mandate march in Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 21, 2021. (Enrico Trigoso/The Epoch Times)

The Epoch Times reached out to de Blasio’s office and the NYPD for comment.

Isabel van Brugen contributed to this report.