With the elections over it is time for our country to come together to work collectively to advance public safety goals, and the American Alliance of Airport Police Officers (AAAPO) stands ready to work with President-elect Donald Trump and other newly elected leaders across the nation.
The comments made by President-elect Trump in his victory speech, which praised law enforcement and referenced how police officers are underappreciated, resonate with the law enforcement community. Given the harsh rhetoric and violence that police officers have been on the receiving end of over the last several years, the AAAPO welcomes these remarks and looks forward to working with his administration to identify areas of consensus on public safety, as well as to ensure the fair and equitable treatment our members have earned and deserve.
In this regard, President-elect Trump’s prioritization of rebuilding infrastructure is an area of agreement where we can work together, as updating our nation’s ageing infrastructure, particularly airports, is sorely needed given that many airports lack basic safety protocols. As the police officers that patrol some of the busiest airports in the world, we have seen firsthand the absence of uniform security measures which affects the safety of travelers, as well as airport employees. For example, most police officers at major airports do not have real time access to all security cameras at airports, police officers are not stationed near the TSA screening area which is the most vulnerable and congested chokepoint at airports, and airport employees are not screened before entering the airport—these security gaps must be corrected in order to better prepare our airports for current and evolving threats, such as yesterday’s tragic shooting at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.
“We want to work on public safety issues with leaders on all sides of the aisle. Not only on issues of agreement, but identifying areas where we can work together and compromise to bring about the big changes that are important to moving our country forward,” said Marshall McClain, co-founder of the AAAPO and President of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association. “This is a critical time in our nation’s history and we want to be a part of identifying solutions that propel our country ahead in a positive way.”