(NewsNation Now) — After 22 years as a Washington state trooper, Robert LaMay was forced to turn in his badge because he will not comply with the state’s vaccine mandate. While he’s not the only state employee who will leave over the issue, he is getting recognition for the way he left the force.
“(Gov.) Jay Inslee can kiss my a–,” LaMay said during his final radio call in uniform on Friday.
LaMay was 2 1/2 years short of full retirement.
“I was fired,” LaMay said on NewsNation’s “The Donlon Report” on Tuesday. “And even on top of that they made it where we cannot get unemployment. So basically I walked out with the boots that I was wearing.”
LaMay said he did not want the vaccine because he was concerned about side effects. He said he knew otherwise healthy people that had developed heart conditions after taking the vaccine.
Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, is a known side effect, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s rare, and the condition is reversible. COVID-19 can also cause myocarditis, and has been blamed for more than 720,000 American deaths. LaMay also said he believed coroners were adding COVID-19 as a cause of death for people who were killed by other means. He did not provide specific examples during his interview other than to say he knew of someone who was shot and their death was listed as COVID-19, but did not elaborate.
Death certificates can have as many as four causes of death. If COVID-19 exacerbated an underlying condition, both could be listed, and it would count toward the pandemic death toll.
LaMay’s story has gained traction online. Radio host Jason Rantz posted the video of LaMay’s final call to YouTube, and his parting words to the governor have been noted in several outlets.
“I’ve talked to people in England yesterday,” LaMay said. “(My son) says there’s newscasts in Russia, I guess, that are putting this out. I mean, this has gone more viral than I could even imagine.”
Officers leaving the force are one expected side effect of vaccine mandates taking hold across the country. The U.S. military, hospitals, trucking companies and industries in between are facing backlash for requiring workers to take the vaccine or submit to weekly testing. Critics argue it will lead to higher unemployment and slower life-saving services as it plays out.
It also leaves a mark on the families of people who opt not to get the shot.
“We basically just sat and cried for a bit,” LaMay said of his wife and himself. “I mean, we’ve been so beat up as state employees. Over the last 18 months, we’ve been lied to, we’ve been stepped on, our unions failed us. And for what? For vaccination that we should all be able to have a choice to take and not take.”
Required vaccines have withstood court scrutiny so far. Serving in the U.S. military also means being up to date on no fewer than a dozen vaccines.
You can watch LaMay’s sign-off below.
