The 2017 Tommy Scott Memorial LAX Run Is Ready for Takeoff!
On Saturday, May 13, more than 1,000 runners will lace up their shoes and take to the streets surrounding Los Angeles International Airport for the 2017 Tommy Scott Memorial LAX Run. Hosted by the Los Angeles Airport Police Athletics & Activities League in partnership with the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association, Los Angeles World Airports and the Association of Airport Employees, the annual event brings police and the public together for a day of fitness and fun benefiting a worthy cause — the Tommy Scott Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Hiring Process at LAXPD Usurped: Vacancies Filled by Inexperienced Outside Candidates
For the last seven months and one year, respectively, there have been two vacant assistant chief positions at the Los Angeles Airport Police Division (LAXPD), which are required to be filled by someone from within the agency. However, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) usurped this process at a recent City Council meeting by requesting an exemption to hire from outside the LAXPD for the two positions, and the Council approved the request.
A Unified Airport Police Structure Keeps Travelers Safe
It’s time to stop adding confusion to police response at airports by haphazardly throwing non-airport-specific police into major airports to “support” our mission. Let’s start with the facts: Basic education and training is an important foundation for all police officers. AAAPO airport police graduate from law enforcement academies and are certified officers in their jurisdictions.
Alternative Facts Can’t Distract From the Truth: More Airport Police Officers Are Needed at LAX
This week, work began on a new $1.6 billion 12-gate concourse at LAX, which is part of the airport’s more than $14 billion Capital Improvement Program. The concourse, set to be completed in 2019, will include 12 new gates in a five-story, 750,000-square-foot building attached to the Tom Bradley International Terminal via a 1,000-foot tunnel. Over the last several years, the airport has expanded massively, both in physical space and passenger loads, and it is continuing to grow.
Over-Trained or Over-Stressed?
Some may categorize the work of a cop as one of the most highly stressful professions. There’s no need to list here all the various “hot call” scenarios an officer responds to while on duty. With so much pressure on a day-to-day basis, you would think the one easy prescription for stress reduction would be exercise, right? Sure it is – if you do it right.
Attacked Again; Still No Changes to Airport Security
Terror struck London on Wednesday, just four days after another attack took place at Paris’ Orly airport. Press releases expressing our sympathies and proposed counteractions are becoming too common, and yet there has still been no federal movement on AAAPO’s simple, commonsense initiatives to support our airports and the police who patrol them.
Why Cops Die Young, Part 2
Our country’s cops are dying from heart failure way too young. In October 2016, L.A. County Sheriff Sergeant Al Lopez, age 44, died from a fatal heart attack while driving his patrol car. In June 2016, ICE Officer Brian Beliso, age 37, suffered a fatal heart attack while in foot pursuit of a suspect. And just last week, NYPD Detective Shaniqua Osbourne, age 44, died from a massive heart attack right at her work desk. Rest in peace, officers.