$5K bonuses for officers who move to Florida to avoid vaccine mandates

Tallahassee, Florida – Incentives to police officers who move to the state in order to avoid vaccine mandates.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan is to sign legislation to offer out-of-state law enforcement officers at risk of losing their jobs due to the vaccine mandate a $5,000 bonus to relocate to Florida.

“NYPD, Minneapolis, Seattle: if you’re not being treated well, we’ll treat you better here,” he said in a Sunday morning interview on Fox. “You can fill important needs for us, and we’ll compensate you as a result.”

This comes after police officers and other city employees in cities like Chicago and New York City are required to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

It is a mandate DeSantis has been speaking out against and even called on a special session of the state legislature to fight the vaccine requirements in Florida.

“Our policy is very clear. We’re going to have a special session and we’re going to say nobody should lose their job-based on these injections,” he said. “It’s a choice you can make, but we want to make sure we’re protecting your jobs and your livelihoods.”

While the governor believes the COVID-19 vaccine should be a personal choice, health officials are trying to get their message across to police officers about the importance of getting vaccinated.

“There have been more deaths from the coronavirus over the last year and a half than all other causes of death for that workforce combined,” said Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control. “We believe it is very important to get these people vaccinated. There is a plan, should these people not want to be vaccinated, towards education and counseling to get people the information they need so that they are feeling comfortable in getting vaccinated.

A number of police unions nationwide have opposed the vaccine mandates.