PORT ANGELES — More city police will collect overtime pay beginning next week when local officers replace National Guard troops at William R. Fairchild International Airport.
Beginning May 10, one Port Angeles police officer will be stationed in the airport’s secured area while departing passengers are screened for potential security hazards.
Local officers will be responsible for securing the checkpoint and could remain at Fairchild anywhere from six months to three years, Deputy Police Chief Terry Gallagher said Wednesday.
That means the department will provide at least nine hours of overtime security each day to Fairchild at the expense of the federal government, Gallagher said.
The switch from national troops to local police is part of a nationwide plan announced last month by federal Transportation Security Administration officials to phase out National Guard security at airports and eventually replace them with federal law enforcement officers.
The National Guard, which has been a fixture at Fairchild and other airports since shortly after Sept. 11, are expected to be out of all airports by the end of May.
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The rest of this story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.