Seattle business owners are fearing the looming vaccine mandate deadline for police officers and firefighters will further lengthen response time to 911 calls, as the city that saw months of violent demonstrations last year already grapples with police staffing shortages and surging crime.
Maher Youssef, owner of Youssef’s Pluto Organic Café in Belltown, told KING 5 News he’s dialed 911 several dozen times over the past few years, including for two separate break-ins which were captured by the coffee shop’s surveillance camera.
Seattle police responded to both robberies, but Youssef said response times were lengthy and staffing shortages expected to worsen with Monday’s vaccine mandate deadline for the city and state could worsen business.
“I feel like I’m on my own. I can’t get help from anywhere. I just open the door every day and don’t know if I’m going to go home safe and good to my family or if something is going to happen,” Youssef said. “The tourists are not going to come, the people are not going to go out of their home to buy things. It’s going to be like a ghost city.”
SEATTLE POLICE STAFFING WOES PROMPT EMERGENCY DISPATCH PLAN AS VACCINE MANDATE FOR OFFICERS LOOMS
The extent of the vaccine mandate on police staffing shortages won’t be known until after Monday’s deadline. Oct. 18 is the date Seattle, King County and Washington State employees are required to submit proof of full vaccination, request an exemption or face termination.
Seattle Police Officers Guild President Mike Solan said officers won’t face immediate termination Monday, but instead, those who choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will receive notice for a “Loudermill hearing,” or a public forum where an employee can present their reasoning for going against the mandate before formal separation. An internal memo distributed by the King County Sheriff’s Office Thursday indicated deputies who don’t get vaccinated will also be affording similar…
Source : foxnews
