Orange County

Mayor says Orange County will ‘aggressively defend’ vaccine mandate in court after firefighter fired

Jerry Demings Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings during a press conference on October 21, 2021. (Nick Papantonis)

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county will “aggressively defend” its COVID-19 vaccine mandate after Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would seek legal action against the county.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced in a news conference with DeSantis on Thursday that the state would join a lawsuit filed by Orange County firefighters against the county over its vaccine mandate.

>>> CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE BRIEFING LIVE <<<

Demings defended the county’s mandate and the fire chief’s decision to fire Battalion Chief Stephen Davis after he failed to comply with disciplining firefighters over the mandate.

“We will aggressively defend our right to protect our citizens and our employees,” Demings said. “We’ll let the courts decide what was lawful or not.”

READ: DeSantis to take legal action against COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.

0