San Diego

A divided Board of Port Commissioners on Tuesday put off for at least three months a decision on whether it should spend a little more than $2 million to buy more police protection from San Diego or expand its own Harbor Police Department for about $500,000 less.

The issue of police services on tidelands governed by the San Diego Unified Port District--property that includes Lindbergh Field--has produced a political tug of war on the commission.

The city of San Diego, which wants the Harbor Police Department to merge with the San Diego Police Department, has proposed as a compromise that it provide 29 officers and detectives to the Port District at an annual cost of just more than $2 million. San Diego Chief Bob Burgreen maintains that his officers are better trained and have substantially more resources than the harbor police force, which he says is “reactive” rather than “proactive” in battling crime.

The Harbor Police Officers Assn. told port commissioners Tuesday it can provide the same level of expanded services, including 29 new officers, for $1.6 million a year.

On a 5-2 vote, with Chairman Louis Wolfsheimer and Bill Rick opposed, a decision was delayed for 90 days to allow the Port District staff to study the issue. Wolfsheimer said the postponement was nothing more than a subtle way of killing the matter.

Burgreen said after the vote that there are “a lot of things on port property that aren’t being addressed.” He said he is particularly concerned about possible drug smuggling at the airport.