Davis Suggests Using CHP Officers to Fill In as Sky Marshals

Gov. Gray Davis said Tuesday that he has proposed to the federal government that armed California Highway Patrol officers pinch-hit as sky marshals on airline flights within the state until federal agents can take over the task.

“We believe their presence, if made known to the pilot and passengers, could add security to that flight,” Davis told a news conference called to discuss precautions being taken to protect California’s water supply against potential terrorist acts.

At the time of the East Coast terrorist attacks Sept. 11, there were only a handful of active-duty sky marshals in the United States. Federal authorities have since proposed to increase the force substantially.

Davis said he made his proposal in a Sept. 25 letter to the Federal Aviation Administration but has received no reply. A Davis spokesman said he believed the plan involved only CHP officers.

The governor said the officers would not be removed from their duties on the roadways to be assigned to sky marshal tasks. He said the CHP officers would be traveling on the airplanes anyway and would serve as sky marshals as an added duty. If approved by the FAA, they would undergo six weeks of training, he said.

CHP Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick said that if the plan went into effect, it would give passengers an extra measure of comfort if they were aware that a sky marshal was aboard. “It also could be a discomfort for someone who wanted to do something [bad] on the plane,” he said.

Helmick said some of his officers carry their handguns while flying and some do not because it is time-consuming to go through the process of identifying themselves and their guns and receiving approval.

The CHP said that last year its officers traveled on about 7,800 flights in California.