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Department Statement On Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Status

As of midnight, all but six Seattle Police Department employees have submitted their COVID-19 vaccination forms or are involved in an accommodation process, per city mandate.  

For those six employees, the separation process has begun. That legal process includes a mandatory Loudermill hearing. For more information, please see the SPD Manual. https://www.seattle.gov/police-manual/title-2—department-employment/2030—retirements-and-separations  

Meanwhile, 103 sworn and civilian SPD employees submitted requests for either a medical or religious exemption. While away from work, those employees will be using their own accrued time balances. The decision on when and whether they will be allowed to return to work will be determined in the coming weeks.

While we work to reach 100% vaccination compliance within the Seattle Police Department, there may be some impacts to our service levels, especially given our loss in staffing over the past two years.     

To that end, the department has developed a series of plans to provide the best level of service, including augmenting patrol staffing with officers from the Community Response Group first, before detectives and other non-patrol sworn employees are asked to return to the streets. 

 We will continue to respond to emergency situations. We will continue to investigate crimes. We will continue to work to keep the City of Seattle safe.     

The pandemic has taken a toll on everyone, especially those who lost their lives to COVID and the people who love them. The SPD recognizes these hardships.  

We at the Seattle Police Department know we are public servants. We swore an oath to protect and serve our community and each other, and we take that oath very seriously. We are committed to helping others.