COUNCIL WANTS UPDATE ON LAPD OFFICERS AT LAX.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council called Wednesday for a new review of the use of LAPD officers at Los Angeles International Airport, reviving a long-standing debate over the effectiveness of the airport police.

Nearly two dozen Los Angeles Police Department officers are assigned to the airport, with annual overtime costs of $7 million paid by Los Angeles World Airports, the city's airport department.

Airport officials have contested the need for the extra officers - which are in addition to hundreds of specialized airport police - but Councilman Jack Weiss renewed his view that the LAPD should control the entire security operation at LAX.

``This is simply a question of having the best police force in charge,'' Weiss said. ``It is not a question of if, but when, we are subject to attack and we should have the LAPD in charge of the entire operation.''

A provision in the City Charter creates a separate Airport Police Department. Voters have previously twice rejected proposals for the LAPD to take it over.

``You have been trying to do this for years and the voters have rejected it,'' Councilwoman Janet Hahn said. ``And independent studies show that the airport police department does an outstanding job in protecting the public.''

When Weiss accused her of making it a personal issue, Hahn responded: ``Hey, I take everything personally when we are talking about protecting lives.''

The issue, which was first raised by Councilman Bill Rosendahl and the reluctance of LAWA to pay overtime costs, prompted other officials to call for a review of the policy.

``What I'm concerned about is that we are taking these officers from all over the city and paying them overtime to work at LAX, and all I've seen them doing is sitting behind desks and reading books,'' Councilman Greig Smith said.

``And by using them for this duty, it limits on how we can use the officers for other overtime.''

Police Chief Williams Bratton has said he wants the LAPD officers available for airport emergencies. And Lt. Paul Vernon said the department also believes the officers help in coordinating responses with the airport police and handling other events at the airport.

Councilman Dennis Zine said the city should consider whether LAWA should use the funds to beef up its airport police department rather than pay overtime for LAPD officers.

``If there was an emergency, we would be there to respond, but maybe we should look at just hiring more people to help the airport police,'' Zine said.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com