JoCo sheriff invites anti-vaxxers to ‘safe haven’ — a police force of the aggrieved

Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden said in a Thursday news release that he wants to make his department a safe space — a “safe haven,” he said — for unvaccinated officers from elsewhere who feel “unsupported and undervalued” where they are, or are suffering on account of “government overreach.”

In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for police officers in this country. More than 6 in 10 of the first responders who died — about 500 in all — were victims of the virus.

So come and be intubated with like-minded others refusing to protect themselves or their communities?

Hayden brags that his band of public health scofflaws is beautifully diverse, including “employees from all over the globe, from Scotland to California.”

Their well-being is his top priority, he says, while actively undermining their longevity.

Putting others at needless risk is pretty much the opposite of the promise to “protect and serve.”

And an office that’s a magnet for the selfish is not one that’s engaged in public safety at all.

Hayden insists that this isn’t really about the vaccine. Instead, “this is about valuing, empowering and supporting individual decisions.” Again, while they’re endangering themselves and others.

If you have a compromised immune system, or a child who can’t yet be vaccinated, how does this not make you want to avoid all contact with employees of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office?

Hayden has already refused to follow the county’s rules for its employees, and does not even require those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 to undergo weekly testing.

A police force of the aggrieved is not a healthy thing for any community, and that’s what Calvin Hayden is actively recruiting.