LAPD owes LAX millions over cops diverted from airport duty

The LAPD owes Los Angeles World Airports more than $2 million for diverting LAPD officers -- who were supposed to be protecting LAX travelers -- to sometimes more glamorous duties, like working the Oscars and NBA playoffs. 

Airport Peace Officers Association President Marshall McClain, who represents airport rank-and-file officers, has long complained about sharing policing duties with the LAPD.

Earlier this year, a federal audit added fuel to those complaints. A Department of Transportation Inspector General concluded in April that LAPD officers who were assigned to airport duties were over-billing LAX by as much as $8 million.

"It's not the LAPD officers that are walking away with that money, that money's going into city coffers, going into LAPD's budget. We could use it better here," McClain said.

McClain said airport money raised through federal landing fees that could be spent on salaries, benefits and equipment for airport police officers is going instead to officers in the LAPD, which is a separate entity

"When LAPD K-9 is off at the Oscars and still being paid for by the airport, that's illegal," McClain said last week at a news conference he called to raise concerns over what he described as the airport's stagnant spending on airport police.

The audit said the problem was far more extensive than a few LAPD K-9 squads going off airport grounds for security sweeps at the Oscars or NBA finals. As much as $8 million dollars in airport security money was diverted or couldn't be properly documented over the five years ending in 2012.

The audit left it up to the city and airport to figure out how much the city of Los Angeles must repay the airport. At a news conference Thursday, Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Pat Gannon put the total at about $2 million.

Gannon said the airport and LAPD have also improved how they track LAPD officers' time on and off the airport, which was another demand of federal auditors.

The airport police now get monthly reports describing how LAPD officers were assigned on airport duty, versus the annual reports they received before the audit.

Los Angeles World Airports Chief Financial Officer Ryan Yakubik said that $2 million spread over five years isn't that much when compared against the airport's $120 million dollar security spending, or its overall $822 million budget.

"Two million dollars, don't get me wrong, is a very big number to anybody, but on the magnitude of the costs we're talking about that we incur regularly, it's not a huge amount," Yakubik said.

Yakubik said about $189,000 of the amount was LAPD officers over-billing the airport for items like overtime, or assignments not related to the airport like the NBA playoffs. However that amount was offset by about $65,000 in services for which the LAPD did not bill the airport.

An additional $2,023,000 would be credited to the airport for overhead costs that LAPD overcharged the airport, Yakubik said. Those overhead items included calculations for benefits, equipment, vehicles and weapons.