Washington State Patrol faces staff shortages & multimillion replacement costs as officers quit over Covid vaccine mandate

Some 127 Washington State Patrol employees, more than half of them officers, were terminated after a vaccination deadline passed this week, with the force now bracing for staff shortages in critical areas and major costs.

Seventy-four commissioned officers – including 67 troopers, six sergeants and a captain – as well as 53 civil servants were “separated from employment” as they missed the October 18 deadline to provide proof of vaccination, the Washington State Patrol (WSP) reported earlier this week.  

The WSP stated that the employees quit the force “for varying reasons and in varying ways,” with chief John R. Batiste declaring that “we will miss every one of them.”

“I extend a hardy thanks to those who are leaving the agency. I truly wish that you were staying with us,” he said.

The mass exodus from the 2,200-strong force could put a strain on the depleted ranks. Speaking to the Oregonian, WSP spokesman Chris Loftis said that in some cases, such as vehicle collisions that result in no casualties or obstruction to traffic, the drivers themselves might be told to work things out on their own and “clear the area rather than wait for a trooper to show up.”

Some employees fired over the vaccine requirement successfully received exemptions from the order, but this did not prevent them from being terminated. Loftis said that over 400 people were granted such exemptions, but not all of them were offered alternative employment due to the nature of the agency’s work. Still, he stressed that the 74 troopers that were effectively forced out “were people that we knew and cared about.”

This wasn’t a situation where 74 troopers left one day because they did something bad – they left in standing opposition to the vaccine mandate, based on their personal principles and convictions

Some of the terminated troopers turned out at the state Capitol on Tuesday in a symbolic protest against the mandate. The former officers laid their boots and hats on the steps of the Capitol building to show “what the state’s lost,” one of the participants, ex-trooper Bill Jordan, told local media. Jordan says he received a religious exemption from the mandate, but the WSP failed to accommodate him.

While Loftis said the agency will step up recruitment efforts, training will come with a hefty price tag. It is estimated that the mass exodus could cost taxpayers $12.4 million, as about $168,000 per year is needed to train just one cadet, and the WSP has lost 67.

The Washington State Patrol is not the only agency that has faced resistance from state employees over compulsory vaccination. More than 1,800 workers in the state have been fired, have resigned, or retired due to the ‘mandate’, according to official data released on Tuesday. This is about 3% of the state’s workforce that falls under the mandate, and those numbers could rise, as 2,887 cases are pending.

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