127 Washington State Patrol employees have been fired following the state of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate.
Washington State Patrol announced Tuesday morning it “separated” the employees who were not vaccinated by the Oct. 18 deadline set by Inslee, which was announced in late August.
Those fired include 53 civil servants and 74 officers. The officers include 67 troopers, six sergeants and one captain.
“53 civil servants and 74 commissioned officers (67 troopers, 6 sergeants, and 1 captain) have, for varying reasons and in varying ways, separated from employment,” according to the Washington State Patrol.
WSP has approximately 2,200 personnel in eight districts and multiple geographic detachments and operational divisions. The firings amount to nearly 6 percent of the agency, and they are spread across the state, impacting some divisions more than others, according to the Washington State Patrol.
“As the agency moves through the next several days, leaders will gauge the immediate actual impact for short-term mitigation. In that time, the agency will move resources where necessary and specific personnel losses demand adjustment. In the mid and long term, WSP will continue its ongoing efficiency reviews and vigorous recruiting that will fill three new academy classes in the months to come. On the civilian side, the agency will make similar adjustments and look to fill vacancies with the best candidates possible as soon as possible,” the agency said.
“As for the more than 2,000 individuals who elected to stay with our agency, I am forever thankful. We have the responsibilities of the agency to carry forward and I am not going to ask you to do more with less. We shall do our very best to keep our remaining staff from becoming overburdened by these temporary losses,” said Chief John R. Batiste.
