Unvaccinated police dismissed from their departments can find a $5,000 signing bonus in Florida

During Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R, announced that he is planning on scheduling a special legislative session to advance a bill that will give police officers in Florida or who relocate to Florida due to vaccine mandates $5,000, along with putting other anti-vaccine mandate safeguards in place for Florida residents.

Quick Facts

• The legislative intiative is for out-of-state officers but also current FL officers in efforts to boost morale.
• Hundreds of police officers so far have lost their jobs in cities that are mandating the vaccine, leaving officers without a job and cities with a shortage of police.
• DeSantis is urging officers who are being treated unfairly by their city to come to Florida where they could receive a $5,000 bonus for joining a Florida-based police unit.

DeSantis said that while the $5,000 incentive wasn’t just due to vaccine mandates, those who have been ousted from their jobs are a focus in recruitment. He explained the goal is to boost the morale of officers who haven’t seen much support from the communities they protect since June of 2020. His proposal to recruit and retain police officers by providing bonus money was first rolled out in early September.

“We are 100 percent excited about saying, Anyone that’s been mistreated, if the morale is low, if you can’t take that environment — and we have openings here — you are going to get an environment where people are going to support you,” DeSantis said. “We are hoping to capitalize off a lot of communities across our country who have turned their back on law enforcement, who aren’t providing them the support.”

The special legislative session will be aimed toward signing that bill, along with providing other safeguards to Floridians who do not want to take the vaccine. DeSantis has also made it clear that Florida will continue fighting President Biden’s proposed mandates for employers as well.

“We’re going to have a special session and we’re going to say, Nobody should lose their job based off these injections,” DeSantis said. “It’s a choice you can make, but we want to make sure we are protecting your jobs and livelihoods.”

Gov. Desantis has been running on a non-stop narrative of freedom. Gaining a spotlight in 2020, the Sunshine State governor refused to overstep his power with business shutdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates. While many leaders are sacrificing freedom for alleged safety, leaders like DeSantis are taking an approach that allows for individual freedom and opportunities for safety — two components that are not mutually exclusive, but rather can be pursued harmoniously.

While the bonus is not aimed directly at unvaccinated police who have been dismissed from their departments, the legislative initiative does display a holistic approach to law enforcement and individual freedom and sends a message to the country that while oppressive and tyrannic measures exist, compensatory regions of freedom will always share a place for those who resist said tyranny.