More than 550 Memphis police call in sick in ‘blue flu’ protest

More than 550 police officers from Memphis, Tennessee, called in sick on Tuesday, a quarter of the department, in an escalating protest over cuts in health benefits that could eventually cost some officers their jobs, the city’s mayor said. The so-called “blue flu” wave started June 30 and has grown daily in an apparent protest to a new Memphis budget that raises the health premiums active city workers pay and cuts retiree health benefits, officials said. Memphis has canceled vacations and other scheduled time off for officers to take up the slack and the Shelby County sheriff has helped fill in gaps, officials said. “It’s a tough predicament,” said Memphis City Councilman Lee Harris, chairman of the council’s budget committee.