Judge Denies Tucson Police Union Request to Stop Officers’ Vaccine Mandate

TUCSON – A Pima County Superior Court judge denied the request made by the Tucson police union to prevent the city from ordering them to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus.

The Tucson Police Officers Association had filed a lawsuit in Pima County Superior Court, naming the city, mayor, and city council members as defendants.

The attorneys representing the police officers asked Judge Richard Gordon to place an injunction to prevent the city policy from taking effect, as they believe this measure is against state law, which prevents governments locals enact vaccination mandates; They also argued that the application of the vaccine is a change in the employment status of its officials and requires the city to negotiate with the union before approving the policy.

Instead, city attorneys argued before the judge that the law will go into effect until september 29.

In this regard, the judge issued his ruling and stated that “to be vaccinated or not to be vaccinated is a personal choice. I’m not commenting on that at all… It’s a tough decision, but the facts are the facts”.

Recently in an emergency meeting, the Tucson City Council and its mayor, Regina Romero, demanded that all city employees demonstrate that before August 24 they had already applied at least one vaccine against Covid-19, otherwise. They would be suspended for five days without pay, while those who met the requirement would receive paid time off as compensation.