![]() TRAGESER: Mayor Todd Gloria says the city has to work with the police union before taking any action. TODD GLORIA: I think we have been exceedingly patient with these folks. But for now, they remain on the job, unvaccinated and untested. TRAGESER: The city of San Diego is still negotiating with the police officers. LYONS-PARDUE: When, you know, so much of the New Testament is focused and really fixated on a testimony to a savior who was willing to undertake death and then told Christians that they would need to take up their cross and follow. She says there's a great irony in using the Bible to justify avoiding some small chance of harm. TRAGESER: Kara Lyons-Pardue is a New Testament professor at Point Loma Nazarene University. KARA LYONS-PARDUE: It really strains credulity that this would have any application there at all. They point to passages from First Corinthians about bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit to bolster their claim. But it's not actually present on the swabs. They claim the test swabs contain the carcinogen ethylene oxide. The records, which had the officers' names removed, go on to reveal that some say testing goes against their religion, too. The city approved those exemptions, but required them to take weekly COVID tests. But records requests from KPBS show many police officers argued vaccines are against their religion. TRAGESER: San Diego requires all city employees to be vaccinated for COVID. TRAGESER: Rebecca Fielding Miller is an epidemiologist at UC San Diego.įIELDING-MILLER: For many, many people, it's not voluntary to interact with the police. That could be a really dangerous situation for people. REBECCA FIELDING-MILLER: The police officer is not vaccinated, is declining testing and is not masked. Their faces are next to his face, and they weren't wearing masks. TRAGESER: Police body camera video shows two officers lying on top of the man. UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: Behind your back. UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #2: Put your hands behind your back. TRAGESER: The man lied about his name and birthdate, so they decided to arrest him and ended up tackling him to the ground. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Just using the bathroom. UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: What brought you over here today? From member station KPBS, Claire Trageser reports.ĬLAIRE TRAGESER, BYLINE: On a cloudy afternoon in April, San Diego police officers stopped a man for smoking in a public park. And now, some officers argue their religion says they can't even get tested. ![]() But it meant that they had to get tested for COVID regularly. Hundreds of San Diego police officers got to skip the COVID vaccine because they said it was against their religion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |