Over 500 LAFD firefighters file court papers challenging city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Court papers have been filed on behalf of hundreds of Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters who want a judge to set aside the city's COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

The still-unofficial Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was brought on behalf of 529 firefighters who are members of the nonprofit Firefighters4Freedom Foundation. They seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting the city from demanding that firefighters receive a COVID-19 shot as a condition of continued employment.

"As will be shown at the time of trial and during preliminary hearings, the city does not have the constitutional authority to force anyone to take an experimental vaccine against his or her will without considering, and granting where possible, reasonable accommodations for those who (choose) not to take the vaccine," the plaintiffs' court papers state.

LAFD investigating captain after he blasts city's vaccine mandate while in uniform

An LAFD fire captain who called the city's vaccination requirement for city workers "tyranny" is being investigated by the department for appearing to be on duty and speaking out against the city policy while wearing his uniform.

Coronavirus data as of Sept. 11 shows a steep decrease in the number of cases and hospitalizations, according to the plaintiffs' court papers.

"There is no basis for the city's rushed and ill-conceived mandate," the firefighters' court papers state.

In addition, firefighters are acting reasonably when they object to a coronavirus injection before the serum's long-term effects are known, the plaintiffs' court papers state.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was quoted in media reports as disagreeing with the firefighters' legal action and saying he was "shocked" by their objections to the vaccine mandate.

"It's pretty embarrassing that people would go to these lengths not to do what is fundamentally in the best interests of themselves, their families and the communities and the workforce of which they are a part," Ridley-Thomas was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, at least six Los Angeles Police Department officers have sued the city over its vaccination requirement.

Six LAPD officers are demanding in a new lawsuit that a judge immediately overturn the COVID vaccination mandate for city workers, claiming there's no evidence that natural-acquired immunity isn't as effective as the vaccine.