More than half of the police officers stationed at Chicago’s airports would be running and hiding along with travelers in the event of a terrorist attack like the one in Istanbul earlier this week.
That’s because nearly 300 of the 500 police officers at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports do not carry guns, according to WLS-TV.
Security at the two airports came under scrutiny this week as images of passengers scattering amid a terrorist attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport were broadcast around the world.
During the Istanbul attack, armed police were able to bring down at least one terrorist near the front door. But only regular Chicago Police stationed at the city’s airports are allowed to carry guns. City Aviation Department police, who have the same training as Chicago police, do not carry guns. Instead, they are instructed to run and hide in the event of such an attack.
“We are the only airport that allow our police officers to be unarmed while on duty,” 29th Ward Alderman Chris Taliaferro tells WLS. Taliaferro has been pushing ordinance that would arm aviation police, but it is currently stalled in committee by the City Council. Taliaferro says this is a threat to public safety.
“Certainly any law enforcement officers– in my 21 years as a police officer I’ve never been taught to run and hide. We’ve always been taught to serve and protect,” Taliaferro told the station.
After the attack in Istanbul, the Chicago Department of Aviation said it was working with the Chicago Police Department and multiple federal agencies to bolster and monitor security at the airports, CBS Chicago reported.
“This is not that hard to solve,” security expert Jeffery Cramer told WLS. “You need armed, trained individuals on the perimeter of the airports, whether it’s CPD or someone else. Let’s figure that out.”
