Nineteen Chicago police officers were stripped of their police powers Monday over their refusal to disclose their vaccination status to the city.
Most of those officers were assigned to CPD headquarters in Bronzeville, according to John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, the union that represents rank-and-file officers.
City employees had until Oct. 15 to disclose their vaccination status. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that more than a third of all CPD officers failed to do so. Catanzara had strongly discouraged union members from submitting their vaccination status, and last week a judge barred him from speaking publicly about the city mandate, WGN reports.
Sources said that more than 40 officers were initially stripped of their police powers on Monday, but more than half of them eventually complied with the vaccine reporting mandate, and their police powers were immediately restored. The 19 officers who were stripped were placed on no-pay status and ordered to turn in their badge, shield and police ID. A complaint was also lodged against each non-compliant officer, WGN reports.
