Union Sues NYC to Stop Unvaccinated NYPD Detectives From Being Terminated

NYPD officers patrol inside Times Square station in New York on May 06, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

A detectives union has sued the city of New York to prevent unvaccinated NYPD detectives from being fired from their jobs, citing concerns over an increase in crime.

The Detectives’ Endowment Association filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday seeking to block the city from terminating over 30 NPYD detectives on June 3 after they failed to get the COVID-19 shots, the New York Post reports.

Former mayor Bill de Blasio set an Oct. 29 2021 deadline for the city of New York employees to get vaccinated. Under that deadline, city employees were required to have proof of at least one dose or risk being placed on unpaid leave until they could show proof of vaccination to their supervisor.

Ahead of that deadline, one in six workers employed by the city had declined to get a COVID-19 vaccine, the city stated on Oct. 30.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told CNN in November that around 6,000 officers had applied for exemptions to the mandate.

The Detectives’ Endowment Association’s lawsuit claims that if the city were to terminate over 30 detectives, and a portion of the 600 detectives who still have religious and medical exemption requests pending, this “will eliminate approximately 10 percent of the rank dedicated and trained to combat and investigate the crimes that befall the citizenry of the city on almost a daily basis.”

It further claims that the June 3 firings are set to occur shortly after 38 unvaccinated detectives received termination letters last week.

“When the city needs detectives the most, in order to deal with and investigate the significant rise in crime, respondents, through the misguided justification of the mandate, seek to eliminate the best crime-fighting force in the city,” the suit states.

The suit adds that the force cannot afford to lose experienced detectives as they are needed to train incoming detectives and notes that the force is already under pressure amid a wave of future retirements anticipated this summer.

“This ‘brain drain’ … will exacerbate the existing rise in crime because the department cannot simply plug in a new ‘number’ to fill this void,” the suit alleges.

The lawsuit comes as New York City saw a substantial increase in grand larcenies, burglaries, and other crimes in March 2022 compared to the previous year, according to an April 6 NYPD press release.

New York City police investigate an incident on an Uptown 4 subway after an emergency brake was pulled near Union Square in New York on April 12, 2022. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

NYPD Police officers listen as Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York President Pat Lynch and representatives from other NYPD and law enforcement unions hold a news conference at the Icahn Stadium parking lot in New York on June 9, 2020 (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

Overall crime rose by 36.5 percent in March 2022 compared to March 2021, driven by a 59.4 percent increase in grand larceny auto, a 48.4 percent increase in robbery, and a 40.5 percent increase in grand larceny. Citywide shooting incidents increased by 16.2 percent year-on-year.

Citywide burglaries also surged by 40 percent in March 2022 compared to last year. However, officials noted a 15.8 percent drop in homicide rates compared to March 2021.

“The need for a well-staffed, properly-trained, and seasoned police force is imperative during these troubling times,” the union’s filing states, according to the New York Post.

The suit calls the terminations “arbitrary and capricious” and states that the firings lack “a sound basis in fact” pointing to the fact the city had already lifted mask mandates for children, gyms, and indoor dining, as well as vaccine mandates for athletes and performers.

Therefore, the firings “run contrary” to the urgency “claimed by respondents for the enforcement of the mandate against DEA members,” it states.

In a statement on Twitter, the union said: “When the city needs detectives the most to deal with and investigate the significant rise in crime—this misguided mandate will ultimately diminish some of the best crime fighting teams in the city. This is experience that can’t be duplicated overnight.”

City Hall Spokesman Johan Allon told The Post: “Numerous courts have already held that the city’s vaccine mandate for public employees is lawful and enforceable.”

“All city workers—unless they have been granted a reasonable accommodation—have had to comply with this mandate as a condition of their employment. We will defend this in court.”

The Epoch Times has contacted New York City Hall and the Detectives’ Endowment Association for comment.

A department spokesperson told The Post that 91 percent of the NYPD was vaccinated as of May 10 but did not elaborate on how many detectives remain unvaccinated or have been terminated from their roles.

However, in February, Mayor Eric Adams announced that 1,430 public-sector workers in the city were fired for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.