The Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids (PERK), on behalf of hundreds of City of San Diego firefighters, police officers, employees, and three individually named plaintiffs; Captain Manuel Del Toro, Jonathan Wiese from the San Diego Police Department, and Captain Justus Norgord from the San Diego Fire Department have secured a critical victory when the City’s unconstitutional vaccine mandate was rescinded for all city first responders and employees. The defendants agreed to a favorable settlement of their lawsuit, conditioned upon the city’s rescinding the mandate. (Case Number 37-2022-00003636-CU-CR-CTL) The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, against the City of San Diego, for declaratory and injunctive relief. The City also agreed to pay a portion of PERK’s legal fees.
"This is a great day for all of us on this road of preserving choice. The mandate was always unconstitutional as it violated fundamental privacy rights under the California Constitution. Our victory shows the resilience of those who fought back to preserve their inalienable rights and freedoms. I am incredibly proud of the plaintiffs, who as fearless leaders in their community, were willing to put their name on the line for all. We are grateful to the S.D.P.O.A. who also supported our fight on behalf of their members. Our attorneys have relentlessly battled this case for over a year.” — Amy Bohn, President of PERK
Media Coverage
City of San Diego Reaches Settlement Over Vaccine Mandate
April 28, 2023 City of San Diego Reaches Settlement Over Vaccine Mandate. The group who sued feels that they’ve set a precedent for other similar mandates that may come in the future, NBC 7’s Jeanette Quezada reports.
Group that sued over San Diego's COVID-19 vaccine mandate declares victory
April 28, 2023 SAN DIEGO — A group challenged the City of San Diego's COVID-19 vaccine mandate in court and declared victory after the city settled the lawsuit and rescinded the mandate.
April 28, 2023- A group challenged the City of San Diego's COVID-19 vaccine mandate in court and declared victory after the city settled the lawsuit and rescinded the mandate. The Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids (PERK) represents hundreds of San Diego Police officers, firefighters, and city employees. "It’s a wonderful victory," said San Diego Fire Captain Justus Norgord. "I’m excited, but I have mixed feelings. I’m also disappointed that we even had to bring the lawsuit." The lawsuit was filed in January 2022.
News coverage Jan 28, 2022 / 05:32 PM PST- Lawsuit filed against San Diego.