As COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadlines loom over police departments nationwide, law enforcement leaders and politicians must weigh whether defiant officers can keep their jobs amid an already-depleted police force.

In Chicago, the police union and mayor have publicly feuded over a city-wide vaccine mandate. The deadline for city employees to report their vaccination status was last Friday. Over a third of Chicago police officers didn’t do so, according to city data.

A “very small number” of Chicago police officers declined additional opportunities to report their vaccination status Monday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. They were sent home without pay and could face disciplinary action.

Lightfoot accused the union of spreading misinformation and doubt about the reporting process, which asks for vaccination status and allows for a temporary window of regular COVID-19 testing at the employee's own expense until vaccines can be administered. 

“Whatever (they’ve) been told, frankly in many instances they weren’t told the truth, and so there is I think an eye-opening moment for many people that this actually is a pretty straightforward non-intrusive process,” Lightfoot said. “Our young men and women at the police department are smarter than maybe they’ve been given credit for. They’re not going to risk their careers by being insubordinate and having in their jackets the fact that they defied a direct order of their supervisors."

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown threatened in a memo to fire officers who don’t comply with the policy, adding that those who retire rather than adhere to the requirements might be putting their retirement benefits at risk.