Several dozen Massachusetts state troopers have resigned over the last few weeks out of protest of the state’s mandate that all troopers get the coronavirus vaccine, according to The Daily Caller.
Michael Cherven, President of the State Police Association of Massachusetts (SPAM), said in a statement that “to date, dozens of troopers have already submitted their resignation paperwork, some of whom plan to return to other departments offering reasonable alternatives such as mask wearing and regular testing,”
“The State Police are already critically short staffed,” Cherven continued, “and acknowledged this by the unprecedented moves which took troopers from specialty units that investigate homicides, terrorism, computer crimes, arsons, gangs, narcotics, and human trafficking, and returned them to uniformed patrol.”
The mandate in question stems from an executive order signed by Governor Charlie Baker (R-Mass.) in August, demanding that all state employees be vaccinated by October 17th. In response to the new measure, SPAM filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the order, with the intention of giving the union enough time to negotiate better accommodations for troopers who did not want to get vaccinated.
The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by Judge Jackie Cowin, who claimed that the lawsuit did not prove that the vaccine mandate would cause “irreparable harm” to troopers who were forced to get it.
“Suspending the deadline for union members to obtain full vaccination would be against the public interest which the defendants are charged with protecting,” Cowin claimed in her ruling, “and cause more harm to the Commonwealth than is caused to the union by denial of such relief.”