By Rick Orlov
Staff Writer

Voters will be asked to decide May 17 what even city officials cannot agree on: Whether the Los Angeles Police Department should take over the airport police force.

Charter Amendment A, which requires a simple majority vote, would remove a City Charter provision that creates a separate Airport Police Department. If it passes, the City Council could take steps to order the merger of the two law enforcement agencies, although the issue is far from resolved. Critics say a debate on whether a merger is a good idea should take place before the charter provision is repealed.

The 300-member Airport Police Department opposes the move, while Mayor James Hahn, Police Chief William Bratton and Councilman Bernard Parks - the former police chief - have each embraced the proposal.

"We don't think it makes any sense," said Scott Mann, who heads the No on A campaign for the Airport Police Department. "There is a lot of concern about what such a move would do to security at the airport and whether it makes sense financially."

He also said that airport police officers are worried about job security if their department is merged with the LAPD.

But Hahn and Bratton say the move would provide for a unified approach to law enforcement at Los Angeles International Airport, which includes dealing with threats of terrorism.

"I believe that in an emergency, you don't want to have any questions about who is in charge," Hahn said earlier this year. "In this post-Sept. 11 world, we have to be prepared to respond to any emergency. We don't want any questions. We don't want any hesitation."

The mayor's position puts him at odds with two former heads of Los Angeles World Airports - the city's airport department - and a group of nearby residents. They argue that the measure would serve to politicize the agency and create the potential for inadequate security at LAX and the city's three other airports.

Also opposed is Councilwoman Janice Hahn, the mayor's sister, who is a strong advocate for separate police agencies at the port and airport.

"It isn't broke and we shouldn't try to fix it," the councilwoman said. "I worry about things like deployment. Will we move people out of LAX to other parts of the city. What about Ontario Airport? Do we put LAPD out there?"

A $900,000 study conducted for Los Angeles World Airports concluded that the departments should remain separate because of the specialized nature of airport policing. It did recommend closer coordination among LAPD and airport police commanders.

Mann also said the city has not been forthright over the additional costs that will be incurred providing enhanced salaries and pension benefits to airport police.

Parks, however, said he believes the costs would be minimal.

"A lot of the reasons for a separate agency just don't make sense today," Parks said. "The two biggest terrorist targets we have in Los Angeles are the port and airport. Yet, we can't respond directly to any incident because of the way it is set up now. We need to have better coordination."

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