Protecting the Rights of First Responders Since 1982
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.
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.
This past Saturday morning, Orly Airport in Paris was the target of an attack by a man carrying a weapon and a can of gas in his rucksack. The suspect grabbed a French soldier at the airport and used her as a shield before two other soldiers shot the man dead. This is yet another terror-related incident in France, which has been the target of repeated acts of terrorism over the last several years.
Yesterday Faaaliga Fuiava was arrested curbside at the departure level of LAX’s Terminal 2, where airport police pulled him over after a passing motorist’s report of a hit and run that had just occurred in the Sepulveda tunnel. LAXPD found a loaded Glock semi-automatic pistol that Fuiava was attempting to retrieve from the center console of his car while also acting erratically.
This week, an airline passenger relayed how she was able to inadvertently take a loaded gun onto an airplane. In this stunning event, the woman went through TSA security, got to her gate and realized her loaded revolver was still in her purse. She has anonymously spoken out to illustrate the ease with which she was able to breach security.
There’s no question that our country’s health is in crisis. Year after year, the leading cause of death is heart disease, and the number of victims continues to grow annually. The obesity rate is also skyrocketing; medical professionals predict that by 2030, over half of our adult population will be obese. Law enforcement officers definitely don’t get a free pass when it comes to health.
Yesterday, 11 passengers breached a TSA screening checkpoint when a screening lane was left open and unmanned at JFK Airport’s JetBlue terminal. Even more unbelievable is that three of the passengers set off the metal detector yet were able to board their flights, since the Port Authority airport police were not informed by TSA of the security breach until two hours after the incident occurred.