CONTACT: Sgt. Belinda Nettles
     (424) 646-5591

GOVERNOR BROWN SIGNS ASSEMBLY BILL 128 INTO LAW PROVIDING PROCESS FOR UPGRADED PEACE OFFICER STATUS FOR LOS ANGELES AIRPORT POLICE OFFICERS 

(Los Angeles, California – October 13, 2013) California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law Assembly Bill 128, sponsored by California Assembly Member Steven Bradford, which will provide Los Angeles Airport Police Officers with enhanced peace officer powers to protect the millions of passengers who travel through Los Angeles International, LA/Ontario International, and Van Nuys Airports.
The new law will enable Airport Police Officers to seize firearms or other deadly weapons in domestic violence cases; remove unsafe vehicles from public roadways; transport bomb-detection training aids; and enforce additional laws necessary to protect the City’s airports against the threat of terrorism in a post-9/11 world. The enhanced peace officer status will also bring Airport Police in line with the Los Angeles Port Police, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and the police departments of every other major commercial airport in California.
Under the legislation, the new peace officer status will go into effect after the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) and the Los Angeles Police Commission enter into an agreement enabling the LAPD Commission Inspector General to conduct audits and investigations of Airport Police.
AB 128 received unprecedented support from government leaders such as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; law enforcement leaders including Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca; peace officer associations including the Peace Officer Research Association of California (PORAC), California Police Chiefs Association, Los Angeles Airport Police Officers Association, Los Angeles Airport Police Supervisors Association, and Los Angeles Airport Police Command Officers Association; and community and business associations including the Westchester Democratic Club and the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA).
Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon said, "The Governor's signature on this important piece of legislation will now provide Los Angeles Airport Police Officers with the tools necessary to keep our airports safe and secure. The traveling public and the residents of Los Angeles deserve no less.
The Los Angeles Airport Police Division is the nation's premier aviation law-enforcement agency with over 1,100 specially trained police officers, security officers, and civilian staff protecting Los Angeles International, Ontario International, and Van Nuys airports.