LAKELAND, Fla. – A Florida police union requested its members be given extra “pandemic pay” for working during the coronavirus outbreak.
The request was made in a letter Tuesday by the president of West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, Nick Marolda, on behalf of its member officers in Lakeland, The Ledger reported. “While the dangers of chasing bad guys into dark alleys and making ‘routine’ traffic stops are arguable, part of what law enforcement ‘signs up for’ (is not) the novel COVID-19,” Marolda said in the letter to the city’s Manager Tony Delgado and Police Chief Ruben Garcia.
Delgado said officers were paid extra wages in prior times for putting in more work through emergency situations, including hurricanes and