An Indiana police department is trying to lure Chicago officers who refused to follow the city's vaccine mandate

• Chicago's mayor gave police officers until October 15 to declare their vaccination status.
• Lori Lightfoot said those who refuse wouldn't be paid. Some 2,000 officers are still yet to declare.

An Indiana police department is trying to poach Chicago police officers refusing to comply with the city's vaccine mandate.

In August, Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago announced that all city employees, including 12,000 police officers, must declare their vaccination status by October 15.

Those that refuse to declare their status will be placed on a "no pay" status, and that officers who declare themselves unvaccinated must be tested twice a week, she said.

Now, a police department in the neighboring state is hoping to lure disgruntled officers into its ranks.

"Hey Chicago Police Officers, we're hiring! No vaccine mandate. Apply today ... Lower taxes, great schools, welcoming communities," Sgt. Glen Fifield, a press information officer for the Indiana State Police, tweeted Wednesday.

-Sgt. Glen Fifield (@ISPLowell2) October 20, 2021

As of Tuesday, about 2,000 officers are yet to declare their vaccination status, Chicago police superintendent David Brown said, according to ABC News.

Brown added that 21 officers have so far been stood down from their duties and denied pay for not disclosing their vaccination status.

Some Chicago officers have spoken out against the mandate.

A Chicago branch of the Fraternal Order of Police, one of the largest police unions in the US, said Lightfoot's mandate was illegal because she didn't consult them.

"All of those things are a change in your employment policies. You have to negotiate with us what that looks like. The city has refused to do that," FOP President John Catanzara said, per CBS Chicago.

On October 15, Lightfoot said the city had filed an injunctive complaint against the FOP, saying that Catanzara was "engaging in, supporting, and encouraging a work stoppage or strike," the Chicago Tribune reported.

Michael Mette, a FOP first vice president in Chicago, likened the standoff between Lightfoot and the FOP to "The Hunger Games" movies, the Tribune reported.

"Welcome to day three of 'The Hunger Games,' where we find out who the city is going to offer up as tribute," he wrote on social media Wednesday, per the Tribune.

As of Thursday, at least four Chicago police officers have died from COVID-19. A New York Times report published last week found that in 2020 and 2021, more than four times as many police officers died from COVID-19 than gunfire.