‘My body, my choice’: Why some vaccine mandate objectors in police and fire ranks are willing to lose jobs rather than get the shot

CHICAGO — During the height of the first coronavirus wave, Chicago police Officer James Murray found himself standing guard on the front porches of sick residents, trying to reassure anxious relatives desperate to see their loved ones while paramedics tended to them.

He lost a friend in the Police Department to COVID-19 around the same time. Later on, he said, he also contracted the virus.

But a year later and with the advent of three coronavirus vaccines in the U.S., Murray has refused to get the shot, which health officials say overwhelmingly saves lives in a pandemic that has killed more than 700,000 Americans. He is also one of more than 70 Chicago Police Department employees who’ve been sent home without pay for disobeying the city’s reporting requirement.

Murray said he didn’t report his vaccination status because he feels upset that the city “forced” the policy on officers rather than negotiate with the union.

“First of all, I want to say I’m not like a conspiracy theorist,” Murray said. “I am a rule follower, believe it