Cops are calling it a major victory and New York City Mayor Eric Adams was stunned. The latest ruling of the State Supreme Court which says that every officer fired “for not getting vaccinated against the coronavirus” must be reinstated. On top of providing for all his new sanctuary citizens, he owes a lot of officers a lot of money.
Cops to be reinstated
Fired cops are getting their jobs back over the objections of stunned progressives. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank ruined the Democrats’ day by ruling in favor of the NYPD’s largest police union.
The vaccine mandate forced on the Police Benevolent Association was invalid. Officials tried to “impose a new condition of employment.” They aren’t allowed to do that.
The mandate was also flawed in another way. Firing cops is “enforcement beyond ‘monetary sanctions’ prescribed in the law.” Every PBA member placed on leave or terminated must be reinstated. PBA President Pat Lynch was doing handstands in the hallway.
#BREAKING Judge Rules Vaccine Mandate INVALID for NYC PBA Members pic.twitter.com/JrSlJAcJWa
— NYC PBA (@NYCPBA) September 23, 2022
“This decision confirms what we have said from the start: the vaccine mandate was an improper infringement on our members’ right to make personal medical decisions in consultation with their own health care professionals.” The battle isn’t over yet, he adds. “We will continue to fight to protect those rights.”
Legal eagles in the city law department are promising to “immediately” appeal the judge’s decision. “It is at odds with every other court decision upholding the mandate as a condition of employment,” they contend.
They originally planned to keep the mandate in place despite the ruling but the Police Union threatened to have them hit with contempt charges for ignoring a State Supreme Court decision and they backed down. The reinstatement of fired cops, which the ruling also ordered, was paused until the appeal is determined,
Fighting for freedom
PBA president Patrick Lynch issued a formal statement about the ruling to union members. “While we are glad that the City has decided to comply with the order in this respect [on leave and firing], we will continue to press for the City’s full compliance, including the reinstatement of any members who were terminated or placed on [leave without pay] due to the mandate.”
Cops were hit exceptionally hard by the pandemic and unconstitutional mandates only made it worse. By fighting the heavy handed mandate, the police union is also fighting for freedom and the rule of law. As the Grey Wolf Walk Across America for Freedom group has been pointing out all along, the state of emergency allows the Constitution itself to be suspended. That’s the only way onerous mandates like this one can be issued.
New York City pink slipped “more than 1,400 city employees, including 36 police officers and about two dozen firefighters, as of earlier this year.” Why? “For refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.”
Cops aren’t alone suffering persecution. “Another 70 FDNY firefighters are facing termination.” This ruling indirectly affects them too.
One of the points that everyone seems to be missing is that the pandemic is over.
Not only should cops, firefighters, health-care workers and pilots be left alone to perform their valuable duties, it’s also time to lift the state of emergency and restore the Constitution to its former glory and effectiveness. Before its too late.
