Coming soon to Syracuse’s airport: A new police force replacing city cops

Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport wants to establish its own police department to replace a force of Syracuse police officers who have been patrolling the airport for decades.

State lawmakers passed a bill authorizing the change before ending their legislative session on Saturday.

The measure would allow the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, which manages the airport, to establish an authority police department with its own uniformed police officers.

The airport police would be considered New York state police officers with the power to use force and arrest people, said Jason Terreri, executive director of the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority.

He said the jurisdiction of the new officers would be limited to the airport property.

If Gov. Kathy Hochul signs the bill authorizing the police department, the new police officers would begin patrolling the airport within eight months to a year, Terreri said.

A spokesman for Hochul said she is reviewing the legislation.

Terreri said the airport would benefit from having its own dedicated police force because it would control the hiring process and staffing levels. He said officers would be more familiar with the airport by working there as full-time employees.

The airport also would have more flexibility in scheduling work shifts with its own officers, Terreri said.

State Sen. John Mannion, D-Geddes, who sponsored the bill, included a justification that cited problems finding enough off-duty Syracuse Police Department officers to work at the airport.

“Due to ongoing staffing issues with SPD, it is becoming more difficult to properly staff the airport,” Mannion’s bill said. “Allowing the authority to establish its own police force will allow it to avoid future staffing conflicts with SPD.”

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh supports the switch.

Joe Moran, a spokesman for the Syracuse Police Benevolent Association, the union representing city police officers, declined to comment.

A combination of off-duty Syracuse police officers and a private security firm have provided security at the airport since 2012 under an agreement with the city.

Before July 1, 2012, the airport was city-owned and operated. Syracuse cops earned up to $48 an hour in airport overtime, contributing to higher security costs at Hancock Airport than at other Upstate New York airports.

Now up to five Syracuse police officers who work under secondary work permits and seven private security contractors are assigned to the airport on any given day, Terreri said.

Airport officials haven’t determined their staffing needs for the new force, Terreri said.

He said the airport plans to retain the private security contractors who patrol outside the airport and help handle the flow of curbside traffic.

The initial costs for operating the new police department will be more expensive because of expenses to equip the officers. But those costs will eventually be comparable to what the airport now spends on security, Terreri said.

“Overall, it’s going to be very good,” he said. “By having the dedicated officers for an airport, they can be very familiar with the airport operations and notice if anything is out of place.”

Mannion’s bill authorizing the new police force sailed through the Senate without opposition. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 63-0 on June 1.

William Magnarelli, D-Syracuse, sponsored the Assembly version of the bill.

The bill noted that two other public transportation authorities in the state operate their own police departments – the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Niagara-Frontier Transit Authority, which runs airports in Buffalo and Niagara Falls.