Federal security chief at LAX unexpectedly steps down

Larry Fetters, a former LAPD deputy chief who was federal security director for Los Angeles International Airport since 2003, has unexpectedly retired from the high-profile job, officials said Friday.

A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration said the retirement was effective Saturday.

The move came as a surprise to some at LAX, and a spokeswoman did not offer a reason for Fetters' departure. One source said he had been planning his exit for some time.

The resignation follows the arrest in January of three TSA employees in connection with an investigation into counterfeited parking passes at an LAX employee parking lot. During the probe, investigators found a videotape that allegedly showed TSA employees using illegal drugs.

Marshall E. McClain, who heads the union representing 425-member LAX police force, said he was shocked by the resignation, which he said leaves a void at the airport that is all the more disconcerting given that it has been identified as a major terrorist target.

“It’s very concerning to the airport police officers that an identified terrorist target is [without a] security director,” McClain said. “It’s compounded by the fact that TSA has been without a leader on the national level for 13 months.”

--Andrew Blankstein

Comments

[oldusedcopoldusedcop]

The bigger question is how the security director kept his job so long. Ask Long Beach PD what they thought of his tenure there.

[H. Craig Bradley]

AIRLINES, RULES, AND BUREAUCRATS

Actually, its not unexpected at all. As a matter of fact, the employee turnover rate in the private security sector is quite high, approaching 20% to 100% employee turnover per year. The director of airport security and the head of homeland security are both in a hot seat because the rules are ineffective, against terrorists that is. However, Airport security rules are very effective at alienating the traveling public.

So, airlines keep downsizing to deal with declining passenger volumes. In the end, nobody is happy, except possibly the terrorists who are thrilled to see us chasing our tails round and round.

[Verballistic]

Who can blame the guy? It's apparently a high-pressure, thankless job and the average person would probably have lasted considerably less time than the 7 years Mr Fetters put in.

Let's hope his successor is appointed quickly and given enough incentives/benefits to endure the sorts of pressures that the LAX federal security director is expected to endure.

[cdoc]

If an organization has been properly developed, the leader at the top should not matter. The organization should have been trained and staffed so that the mission is executed effectively.

Unless the senior executive has been asked to leave unexpectedly, that person should also have been responsible for succession planning; thereby effectively identifying and developing the person who will take their place.

Whether in business or government, the senior executive that fails at these roles fails as an administrator and his or her departure should be welcomed.

Finally, rank and file members understand that they are expected to do their job; irrespective of who is leading the organization. If they must rely on direction from someone many supervisory levels removed from them, this is a dysfunctional organization. Of course, we are talking about TSA...