Metro Police officers maintain a presence near the Polo Towers on the Las Vegas Strip Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.
Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021 | 6:15 p.m.
Metro Police have no plans to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for existing officers, despite FDA approval of the Pfizer shot and the deaths of four officers from the coronavirus.
While more and more businesses and public agencies are requiring vaccinations, only a little more than half of Metro employees are fully vaccinated.
Experts say that poses a risk not only to the officers but to members of the public with whom they interact.
Officer Larry Hadfield said new Metro hires must provide proof of COVID vaccination as a term of employment, but officers already on the force won’t be required to get the shot.
Metro has “made efforts to encourage current employees to get vaccinated and will continue to provide them education regarding the dangers of COVID-19,” Hadfield said.
Among those efforts is a video by Sgt. Tom Jenkins, a 28-year Metro veteran, who shared his bout with COVID. Describing his struggle to breathe, he said it felt like a plastic bag was over his head and sealed with duct tape around his neck.
“Get it for your family, get it for your coworkers, get it for your friends, get it for your spouses, get it for your kids,” Jenkins said in the video. “COVID is not a joke. I’m here to tell you it almost took me off the planet.”
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo was unavailable for comment for this story, but previously called the low rate of vaccinated officers earlier in the year “unacceptable,” especially given that officers were among the first to be eligible for the shot. He told the Washington Post in May that officers must use their own sick leave to quarantine and recuperate if they contract the virus.
Since announcing a Republican gubernatorial bid in June, however, Lombardo has not issued a stance on vaccine mandates and has taken down a photo on his campaign website showing him getting inoculated.
A total of 52.9% of Metro employees are fully vaccinated, while 54.4% have received at least one shot. That compares with 50.2% of eligible residents in Clark County who are fully vaccinated and 62.1% who have received at least one dose.
On Monday, Sgt. Douglas King, 36, became the latest Metro officer to die of complications from COVID-19. Officer Phil Closi, 48, died on Aug. 11; Officer Jason Swanger, 41, died last month; and Lt. Erik Lloyd, 53, died in July 2020.
It’s unclear if any of the officers who have died since the vaccine has been available had taken the shot.
“Based off those tragedies, we hope employees will do what is best for their personal health and make the decision best for them,” Hadfield said.
Steve Grammas, president of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, did not return multiple requests to interview, but has said elsewhere the union that represents Metro officers does not endorse vaccine mandates.
In a YouTube video posted Aug. 16 on the association’s channel, general counsel Dave Roger said Metro would have to negotiate with the union on matters of working conditions and employee safety under a provision in the collective bargaining agreement.
“If the department wanted to institute mandatory vaccinations, they would have to negotiate with PPA,” Roger said in the video. “It is unlikely an arbiter would side with the department when there is no Nevada state law mandating vaccinations.”
Other government agencies and private businesses, meanwhile, are increasingly requiring employees to get vaccinated. Among them: The U.S. military and other federal employers, Facebook, CVS, Delta Airlines, Walmart and the Walt Disney Company.
Locally, MGM Resorts International, one of Nevada’s largest employers, is requiring employees to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. AEG Presents, a major tour and festival promoter, announced shows at venues it owns will require proof of vaccination to attend. The Las Vegas Raiders are also requiring fans be vaccinated to attend home games at Allegiant Stadium.
Effective Aug. 15, all Nevada state employees who aren’t fully vaccinated must submit to weekly COVID-19 tests, according to the state’s website. All state employees must also wear a mask at all times while on duty in indoor public settings in counties with high or substantial transmission regardless of vaccination status.
Johan C. Bester, director of bioethics at UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, said it is in society’s best interest for frontline workers to get vaccinated.
Police officers interact with members of the public who may be vulnerable to the virus and face a greater risk of getting sick themselves if they are unvaccinated, he said.
“Our society desperately needs police officers to be able to do their work without fear of getting sick,” Bester said. “They get placed in situations frequently where they're at higher risk of getting sick. And so every measure that we have to protect them should be used.”
Bester said police officers may be hesitant to get vaccinated because of misinformation or the way the virus and vaccine have been politicized.
They “do not live in a bubble and are influenced by the same factors that influence the general public,” he said.
The Henderson and North Las Vegas police departments also are not requiring officers to get vaccinated.
Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said the city was looking at implementing a vaccine incentive program. She did not provide information about how many officers were vaccinated.
Henderson Police PIO Katrina Farrell did not provide employee vaccination figures and added: “vaccination records are HIPAA-protected medical information and it is voluntary for employees to share their COVID-19 vaccination card with the city.”
North Las Vegas Police spokesman Alexander Cuevas said the department “strives to keep our personnel and community members safe, and we encourage our employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. We continue to follow state mandates, which require all employees, regardless of vaccine status, to wear face coverings while in an indoor public space.”
The department does not track how many officers are vaccinated, Cuevas said.
The Nevada Highway Patrol did not respond to messages seeking comment.
