New York Police Bomb Squad members sue for $75M, say COVID-19 vaccine terminated careers
The city is facing a $75 million lawsuit from five NYPD members, three of whom are from the Bomb Squad, citing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate as the reason for their career termination.
According to the officers, who collectively possess decades of experience, they have been deprived of a complete pension along with yearly interest and medical benefits since they were terminated in 2022 for refusing to get vaccinated.
In February, the city decided to lift the vaccine mandate for its employees. However, the five men comprising Detectives Paul McCartney, a US Marine with 17 years of experience on the job; Jean Pierre Sylvestre, a US Marine veteran with 20 years of service in the NYPD; Joseph Trancho, who worked for the department for 18 years; Sgt. Craig Collopy, with 27 years of service; and Lt. Christopher Eckert, who also served for 20 years, have not re-applied for their positions yet.
Eckert, who had previously served with the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit, and McCartney, who was currently a part of the unit, both chose not to receive the vaccination.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the mandate, as workers have strongly opposed it, considering it unfair.
Around 1,780 employees lost their jobs for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
In their Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit against the city, Mayor Adams, and former city Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi, the officers emphasized that they had to bear the brunt of refusing compulsory vaccination, even though every other unvaccinated person faced no consequences.
According to court papers, the alleged injustice turned into a major blow in March 2022. This was when Adams introduced a special exemption for elite athletes, including Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, who had not been vaccinated. The plaintiffs argued that this move was unfair, especially given the fact that it had become apparent that the vaccine did not prevent the transmission of the virus.
Attorney Chad Levaglia, who is representing the officers, expressed his disappointment by stating that “Adams just kicked them down for nothing” after the officers climbed up the ladder. Levaglia emphasized the uniqueness of this lawsuit by directly challenging the effectiveness of the vaccine. According to him, they are pointing out that the vaccine did not work, and Adams was aware of it.
According to the Health Department of the city, their vaccination campaign has successfully prevented 48,000 deaths, over 300,000 hospitalizations, and 1.9 million cases of COVID-19.
According to a spokesman from the Law Department, The Post was informed that the city’s vaccine mandate has been consistently upheld as lawful by the courts. Once the case has been served, they will review the details.
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