LOS ANGELES — “He is not a monarch. He is not a king, and he should stop acting like one,” California Governor Gavin Newsom told Politico last week. LAAPOA could not agree more.
While we may be talking about two different people, much of what Newsom said leading up to the “No Kings” rallies seemed tailor-made for LAXPD’s self-anointed “king,” Chief Cecil Rhambo.
LAAPOA has, in a series of press releases, documented our concerns about King Rhambo. They include: a directive to cancel a condensed workweek schedule overwhelmingly supported by rank-and-file officers; erratic behavior; taking an extended leave of absence shortly after arriving at LAX to run for L.A. County sheriff, where he finished a distant fourth; accusations of using LAXPD staff to collect campaign contributions and perform favors for campaign donors; retaliation against LAXPD employees; allowing ongoing technical issues related to late paychecks, inaccurate overtime pay and 2023 pay raises for LAXPD; lack of recruitment; erosion of morale; failure of sworn officer retention; and abdication of leadership.
The King’s Overlord
The “king’s overlord,” LAWA CEO John Ackerman, the power behind the throne, has been given gold shillings and has no problem doling them out. Ackerman, a former executive VP of global strategy and development for Dallas–Fort Worth Airport, where he developed an online parking system, came to LAWA in 2023. Sixteen months later, Ackerman received a huge raise of $250,000, giving Overlord Ackerman a massive base salary of $750,000.
The Kingdom’s Court
Just today, the LAX Kingdom announced another senior member to its entourage, making it one of the largest “courts” among all American airport kingdoms. A new deputy executive director (DED), Jean-Pierre Tabet, has been hired, adding to the extremely highly paid top managerial ranks at LAWA that have expanded exponentially under Ackerman. LAWA now has more than double the number of DEDs that it has ever had in the airport’s history — even as LAX has fallen from the second to fifth-busiest airport in America under Ackerman’s leadership and LAWA has shed Ontario Airport from its ownership portfolio.
Let Them Eat Cake
Meanwhile, under King Rhambo and Overlord Ackerman’s rule, LAXPD’s staffing levels remain dangerously low.
Over the past five years, LAXPD has suffered a 33% attrition rate, with 171 sworn officers departing — an average of 34 per year. Of those, 90 sworn officers resigned, with one-third transferring to other agencies, and 81 retired. Yet, only 84 new hires have been made in total — equating to barely 17 new hires per year.
In May 2023, post-COVID, LAAPOA reported that LAXPD had its “lowest sworn staffing in the past 15 years.” There has been no turnaround; the numbers continue to decline.
Meanwhile, LAX expands its kingdom with a $15 billion development plan and prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
LAX is not ready.
The Town Crier
“Every kingdom needs a town crier, and LAAPOA is serving that role at LAXPD. We have no kings at LAX. Self-proclaimed King Rhambo needs to hear from those he supposedly represents. It is time to go. We have given you every chance to lead us. It has not happened. We need more sworn officers. We need a leader to stand in front of us, with us and beside us — to lead us because we respect you and want to follow you, not because you dictate it, but because you earn our respect” LAAPOA President Marshall McClain says. “Let’s stop the retribution for speaking truth to power. Let’s work to bring greater cohesiveness to law enforcement at LAXPD through more officers to patrol our massive airport campus and attend to the millions of travelers who are coming here for world events. If you can find 21 high-level DEDs, you can find more than six police recruits, as you bragged about in Roll Call recently. And let’s get our officers paid — no more ‘technical glitches.’ I bet Ackerman’s $250,000 raise kicked in without any system malfunction. No more kings here. The reign must end.”