Westside
NEW PROTECTION: City airport commissioners decided Tuesday to provide police at Los Angeles International Airport with new bulletproof vests in hopes of ensuring better protection for the 200 officers who patrol the facility.
The vests will replace gear issued in 1990, when LAX police began wearing armored protection.
The vests, which will be distributed at the end of December, will cost the Department of Airports $280 each--a $70,250 price tag for the entire police force.
Airport officers, who carry guns and receive police training, patrol the airport’s garages, terminals and perimeters.
LAX officials said there have been no shootings on airport property in recent memory.
The commission’s decision to purchase the vests comes after the Federal Aviation Administration issued an order requiring some airports, including LAX, to increase their security measures. Officials would not say whether the vests were part of the airport’s response to the FAA order.
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