Milwaukee reaches deal requiring COVID-19 vaccines for sworn police officers

After months of negotiations, the Milwaukee Police Association has agreed to require its members to receive a COVID-19 vaccination by Jan. 31, or wear at mask at all times while on duty except while eating or drinking.

The agreement was reached Monday, at a time when community spread of new COVID-19 variant is rampant. As of Wednesday, the seven-day average for new cases in Milwaukee County was up to 542. Since requiring vaccines for city employees, Milwaukee is currently at 97 percent compliance for employee vaccination.

“At this important time in the COVID pandemic, I am pleased the (police union) has agreed to these reasonable steps,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement. “I appreciate the spirit of cooperation the (union) has brought to this matter.”

But Andrew Wagner, the president of the Milwaukee Police Association, said the union is unhappy about the strictness of the agreement. Wagner said the department’s 1,400 union members were presented with two options: Accept the agreement or be faced with a forced vaccination and possible unemployment.

“They felt pressured,” Wagner said. “It’s a very restrictive agreement because there is not enough in there for officers to do their jobs, or if they forget coming out of the bathroom, or if they are sitting at their desk and someone walks within 6 feet of them, there are really strict penalties.”

If an unvaccinated officer is caught without a mask, they’ll be suspended without pay for 10 days. The second time the unpaid suspension is 20 days. The third violation results in termination, Wagner said.

Wagner said standard operating procedures previously granted to union members, like masks falling off during a foot pursuit, are no longer being accepted by the city.

The union also asked the city if officers who didn’t want to be vaccinated could submit weekly testing results instead, but that wasn’t approved, Wagner said.

The union, which represents sworn police officers and detectives, voted 56 to 44 to accept the terms.

Wagner doesn’t know how many members are vaccinated, but he estimated it’s similar to the population of the city of Milwaukee — about 60 percent.

“The officers were forced to make a decision that they felt was best for themselves and their families,” Wagner said. “Obviously, if they would have turned it down, it would have started some legal battles and most of the officers chose they didn’t want to go that route.”

From Seattle to New York, police departments have resisted vaccine mandates. In Chicago, the police union is suing the city.

During the first half of the year, 155 law enforcement officials died in the line of duty, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Of those, nearly half of the deaths, 71, were from COVID-19.