The Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office is stepping up to provide security checkpoint law enforcement coverage required for all departing flights at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
Emergency assistance is needed because Avoca borough opted to cancel its contract providing such coverage, and Pittston Township was not interested in taking over the service, county DA Sam Sanguedolce told council at a work session this week.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screens passengers and baggage but mandates the airport provide officers with arrest powers at a podium near its checkpoint, Sanguedolce said.
According to an online TSA posting, its screening officers don’t have authority to arrest passengers and require law enforcement assistance when travelers try to evade or interfere with the screening process, carry prohibited or illegal items or are on a “Be on the Lookout” list, unruly or suspected to be in danger or traveling against their will.
The airport is jointly operated by Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, but only a “tiny slice of land at the end of the runway” falls in Lackawanna, the DA said.
If the agreement is authorized by county council, Sanguedolce said a mix of existing DA task force officers and new part-time police officers will be assigned to provide the daily coverage on two shifts from 4 a.m. to noon and noon to 8 p.m., with additional hours required if a flight is delayed.
Some police officers from Avoca and other municipalities have expressed interest in filling shifts, he said. No new officers assigned under the DA’s office will be permitted to work more than 1,000 hours per year or be eligible for county health insurance or pension benefits, he said.
The airport has agreed to cover the county’s costs with “very limited liability” to the county, Sanguedolce told council.
Sanguedolce said no other entity, including the airport, was equipped to independently assemble the law enforcement coverage within the 30-day window Avoca had to pull out.
Council Chairman Tim McGinley said Avoca officials cited police staffing difficulties as a reason for ending the borough’s agreement.
“I actually don’t see a downside,” Sanguedolce told council of his office’s takeover. “It’s better, I think, for the District Attorney’s Office to have supervision than pretty much anyone else in Luzerne County.”
County Acting Manager Romilda Crocamo commended the DA for taking on the task.
“The airport will be in very good hands,” she told council.
Council had planned to vote on the matter Aug. 24.
However, Crocamo on Thursday asked council to consider scheduling a special meeting next week because Sanguedolce informed her the TSA is expecting DA-supplied law enforcement officers to be at the airport starting Monday.
Sanguedolce is willing to deploy law enforcement officers he already supervises to the airport on an emergency basis until council votes, Crocamo said.
McGinley said it’s likely a special council meeting will be scheduled Tuesday.