Ron DeSantis hopes to sign a bill during the next legislative session providing a $5,000 bonus to any law enforcement officer who moves to Florida.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed his willingness to accept and employ police officers fired in other states for refusing to vaccinate against COVID-19. He said this in an interview with Fox News.
DeSantis, in particular, said that the Florida authorities are already making efforts to recruit law enforcement officers from other states who may be out of work due to their negative attitude to vaccinations against coronavirus infection. “We are already actively recruiting law enforcement officers from other states, as we need to replenish the staff of our police stations and sheriff’s offices,” the governor said.
He added that he hopes “during the next legislative session <…> to sign a law granting a bonus of $5,000 to any law enforcement officer who moves to Florida.” “So, the police officers of New York, Minneapolis, or Seattle, if they treat you badly, we will treat you better here. You will be able to do important work for us, and we will provide you with compensation in return,” the governor said.
As The Hill newspaper points out, Desantis’ statement further increased the degree of confrontation between him and the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who insists on mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 for all federal employees and employees of large companies. Last week, the governor announced the convening of a special session of the state legislature to counteract compulsory vaccination in Florida. Desantis, who was elected from the Republican Party, considers this demand of the country’s democratic leadership unconstitutional and economically destructive since it gives employers the right to dismiss workers and employees who do not want to be vaccinated against COVID for one reason or another.
“The position of Florida is absolutely clear,” the publication quotes him as saying. – We are going to hold a special session and intend to say that no one should lose their job because of these injections. This is a choice that you have to make. And we want to provide guarantees that you will keep your jobs and sources of livelihood.”
The authorities of some states have already taken measures against law enforcement officers who do not want to be vaccinated against COVID. So, in Chicago (Illinois), two dozen police officers were sent on unpaid leave for refusing to provide information about whether they were vaccinated against COVID-19. In Massachusetts, several dozen traffic police officers have expressed their intention to leave the service due to forced vaccination. In Washington state, about 2 thousand civil servants found themselves facing the prospect of dismissal for the same reason.
