FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 20, 2015
MEDIA CONTACT: Jasmyne Cannick, [email protected], (323) 839-0216 Union Representing Airport Police Officers at LAX
Does Not Mince Words in Open Letter to Board of Airport Commissioners
Correcting the Record on Recent Unattended Dynamite Incident
LOS ANGELES, CA – The union representing the sworn police officers and firefighters
of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department did not mince words in a tersely written
letter to the president of the Board of Airport Commissioners correcting the record on
the April 25 incident where a live stick of dynamite was accidentally left unattended at
the airport.
Although widely misreported in the media that the dynamite was left by an Airport Police
Officer, to the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers’ Association’s (LAAPOA) dismay,
neither the Los Angeles Airport Police Department (LAXPD) or Los Angeles World
Airport’s (LAWA) media relations departments bothered to correct the error.
The reality is that the dynamite was left by one of the Los Angeles Police Department
K9 officers participating in a joint training exercise between the LAPD and the LAXPD.
A copy of the letter is below:
May 20, 2015
Mr. Sean O. Burton
President
Board of Airport Commissioners
Los Angeles International Airport
1 World Way
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Dear President Burton & Commissioners,
The April 25th incident where a live stick of dynamite was accidentally left
unattended to the rear of the Canine Office is unfortunate to say the least.
As you may or may not know by now, the dynamite was left behind after a joint
training exercise between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los
Angeles Airport Police Department’s K9 officers. Contrary to what has been
misreported, the stick of dynamite was not left out by an LAXPD officer. It was, in
fact, left by one of the LAPD K9 officers. What is equally embarrassing and
demoralizing to the officers of LAWA, who serve with distinction and honor, is
that they received the blame and ridicule associated with such a breach. Further,
when questioned, neither Chief Gannon nor anyone from Airport Police
command set the record straight about the incident.
As unsettling and embarrassing as this event is, it serves as another example of
the chaos and lack of accountability that is the result of LAWA’s split-policing
model which incorporates contracted policing services from the LAPD into a
specialized and airport only focused policing agency. The split-policing model at
LAX is unnecessary, highly costly, and inefficient — and as proven before and
recently, can even be dangerous.
As you are aware, a major criticism of the response to the November 1, 2013
shooting at LAX was the chaos and confusion associated with three incident
command posts being established post-takedown of the shooter. The nation and
world witnessed the aftermath of our officers, with the impediments of TSA panic
button failures, the lack of caller ID on TSA red line phones and a 911 airport
calling system that does not connect to Airport Police dispatch, take down the
shooter (once we could finally determine where he was) with textbook precision
and professionalism, only to then be burdened with the chaos associated with an
airport that was receiving direction from three different first responder agencies,
until they eventually all folded into the Airport Police command.
I would strongly encourage you to reach out to other airports which have a strong
response record to airport incidents, most notably the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey (PANYNJ) airports which include JFK, LaGuardia and Newark.
PANYNJ police (and firefighters) have responded to more airport incidents than
any others in our nation and are regarded as the gold standard in airport policing
for their coordinated responses. The police and firefighters of the PANYNJ are
proprietary to their airports and they do not utilize contracted officers at the
airports. It is a fact that these officers have been lauded and have never been
criticized by the NTSB in their reports for their responses to airport emergencies.
Often cited is the consistent unified structure of their response which has never
deviated from the one incident commander model. At their airports, in major
incidences, local policing authorities such as NYPD and FDNY, congregate at
their predesignated staging area and are called up and escorted onto the airport
at the direction of the incident commander at the airport.
Just as we have concerns over the split-policing model at our airports, we have
the same reservations about having a second armed force at the airport, as the
TSA union suggests, with issues including: two chains of command; a lack of
specific accountability; confusion resulting from two armed forces in a confined
and highly charged contained and complex environment; two chiefs as
commanding authorities; as well as those specific to the LAPD contracted police.
Regarding that last issue, for example, the airport is paying for contracted LAPD
officers to leave the airport to do city rather than airport business. However, the
airport should be securing and paying for officers that are fully committed to
providing services to the airport. Such problems and diversions from the airport’s
core concerns and interests only underscore the continuing concerns about the
fractured policing model that now prevails. TSA management does not support
arming their agents nor does the general public. In this regard, I would
encourage you to learn more about how the split-policing model of having a
major contracted LAPD presence at LAWA creates similar problems and has
undermined the airport’s interests.
Under no circumstances should this most recent incident be used to
mischaracterize the hardworking men and women of the Los Angeles Airport
Police Department who through no fault of their own are being used as
scapegoats.
LAAPOA maintains its position that the squandering of municipal resources on
duplicate and redundant policing services when the airport already has a fulltime, on-site, highly specialized force is contrary to the interests of L.A. taxpayers
and the public at large.
LAPD should be policing the city, not the airport. This is especially so in light of
the recently reported increase in the city's violent crime statistics, which rose in
2014 for the first time in 12 years and continue to rise in 2015.
LAWA has a dedicated, proprietary Airport Police force, but multimillions of
LAWA dollars have been spent on contracted LAPD officers at the airport and
often times these contracted officers are being pulled off airport duties to work
LAPD assignments (i.e. to serve as extra security during special events such as
the NBA Finals, the Oscars, the Emmys, celebrity funerals, etc.) without
reimbursement to LAWA for their absences. This practice must end.
Despite our current Police Chief Gannon being former LAPD, the LAXPD frankly
does not wish to inherit the problems associated with the Los Angeles Police
Department, and this is another reason why LAPD’s presence is contrary to the
airport’s interests.
As troubling as that canine training aid incident was, LAAPOA hopes that this
incident nonetheless serves as a reminder to the Board of Airport Commissioners
regarding the need to have a leader who does not have conflicting ties to the City
of Los Angeles and who can and will stand up in the midst of confusion,
controversy, and innuendo and will defend the hardworking men and women of
the department whom he has been appointed to represent as the chief.
In conclusion, today’s incident at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that
involved a man who was not cooperating with Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) officers reinforces the need for Los Angeles Airport Police
Officers to be stationed within 300 feet of TSA security screening checkpoints.
Thanks to the quick action and response of our highly trained Los Angeles
Airport Police Officers during this rapidly evolving situation, the incident was
resolved swiftly and without loss of life.
The screening checkpoint is a uniquely vulnerable area within airports given that
awaiting planes are located just beyond this area, the Los Angeles Airport Peace
Airport Officers Association (LAAPOA) continue to believe that in order to best
protect both airports and their occupants it is necessary to have a trained sworn
law enforcement officer within 300 feet of TSA checkpoints and today was a
great example of why.
With a new executive director coming to LAWA, we are optimistic that there will
be a renewed focus and balance applied to ensuring our expanded and growing
airport is safe and secure. LAWA’s current leadership has not focused holistically
on the needs of our airport, as evidenced by the deterioration of policing, the
failure in responding to major incidents at LAX, and the neglect of Ontario Airport.
We believe our current police chief is unfortunately a product of a
counterproductive mindset, and thus support a change in this position so LAWA’s
best days are ahead of it.
Sincerely,
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association
MARSHALL E. McCLAIN
President
(LAAPOA)
cc: Board of Airport Commissioners
Mayor Garcetti
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The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers’ Association (LAAPOA) represents the sworn police
officers and firefighters of the Los Angeles Airport Police Department assigned to protect and
serve Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT) and Van
Nuys Airport (VNY). For more information on LAAPOA, please visit www.laapoa.com.
Follow LAAPOA on Twitter @AirportPoliceLA and on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/laapoa.