San Diego Police Department set to lose at least 500 officers due to COVID-19 vaccine mandate

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The vaccine deadline for law enforcement looms over the San Diego Police Department with the date of Dec. 1 circled in red.

If this mandate takes effect as planned, the San Diego Police Department could lose over 500 officers who have chosen not to get vaccinated.

San Diego Police Department Sgt. Matt Randolph spoke at an anti-vaccine mandate rally last month, bringing attention to the potential risks San Diego could face, should the mandate take effect.

At the rally, Sgt. Randolph noted that over a quarter of the department’s staff could leave by December due to the vaccine mandate.

“Think about the impact that would have on public safety for this great city,” Sgt. Randolph urged the audience.

“Now this is not about whether the vaccine is a good thing or not. This is about freedom of choice. And now it’s about public safety for the city,” Sgt. Randolph said.

Sgt. Randolph joined KUSI’s Ginger Jeffries on Good Evening San Diego to discuss details of the looming loss of police officers in San Diego.

“You need to get out there and act. The two most powerful weapons we have are our voice and that constitution,” Sgt. Randolph said during the discussion.

Sgt. Randolph described the San Diego Police Department as a “well-oiled machine” and a fairly safe city in regards to the nation’s largest cities, but expressed that the department has had staffing issues for a long time.

The department is already understaffed, and letting go of a quarter of officers would only exasperate the problem, Sgt. Randolph said.

Should the city decide to enforce the mandate, “San Diego will be entering into a very dark winter,” Sgt. Randolph warned.