July
8, 2002 8:45 a.m. LAX
Scene
The
dog-and-pony nonsense on the Fourth.
t
is axiomatic among police officers and detectives — the cops who
actually do the work that cops are supposed to do — that the more
brass that shows up at your crime scene, the more difficult it will be
to do your job. If what occurred at Los Angeles International Airport
last Thursday had instead taken place just a few miles to the east, in
South Central Los Angeles, the highest-ranking cop to respond would have
been a lieutenant, one who would understand that his role was to stay
out of the way of the dozen or so cops who would be trying to get a handle
on things.
But
because the shooting happened at LAX, on the Fourth of July, what the
world saw unfolding on live television was a dog-and-pony show of the
first order, one featuring the LAPD's chief, three deputy chiefs, assorted
commanders and captains, and all their retinues of toadies, lackeys, and
hangers-on. And every one of these people felt the need to put his imprint
on the flow of events and demonstrate his expertise in handling such matters,
which expertise, as is well known to those of us who toil in the trenches
of law enforcement, is next to nil. There came a series of conflicting
and often nonsensical orders that resulted in hundreds of police officers
wasting their time and thousands of travelers being inconvenienced far
beyond what was necessary. Adding to the confusion were the chief and
command staff of the LAX Police Department (which is independent from
the LAPD), and a hastily assembled platoon of agents from the FBI, Customs,
Immigration and Naturalization, and every other federal agency operating
at the airport.
And when the FBI
took control of the investigation and learned a few things about the gunman,
what did they reveal to an anxious public? They didn't know why the guy
did it. A headline in Saturday's Los Angeles Times read, "FBI
Still Seeks Motive in LAX Shootings." The story reported that the
FBI was "trying to figure out if the gunman, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet,
might have been despondent, suicidal, motivated by ethnic hatred —
or a combination of all of those factors." Bureau spokesman Matt
McLaughlin said terrorism "certainly can't be ruled out." Well,
bully for Special Agent McLaughlin for going way out on a limb and taking
such a controversial stance. Some may think it impertinent that I, at
my lowly station in the law-enforcement hierarchy, should question the
wisdom of the exalted Federal Bureau of Investigation, but an examination
of what was already known about Hadayet on Thursday afternoon should offer
sufficient clues as to what motivated his murderous rampage.
Hadayet was an immigrant
from Egypt. He was a devout Muslim, and had a bumper sticker reading "Read
the Koran" on the front door of his Irvine condominium. He objected
when his upstairs neighbor had the effrontery to fly the American and
Marine Corps flags from his balcony following the September 11 attacks.
On the morning of July 4, Hadayet left his home armed with 9-millimeter
and .45-caliber handguns as well as a six-inch knife. In his coat pockets
he carried extra magazines filled with ammunition for each of the handguns.
If he had been motivated solely by the desire to shoot up an airport he
might have chosen Orange County's John Wayne Airport, located just a few
miles from his home and which he no doubt passed as he drove on the San
Diego Freeway toward LAX, another 35 miles to the north. (El Al does not
operate from John Wayne Airport.) On arriving at LAX, with nine passenger
terminals to choose from, he parked near the Tom Bradley International
Terminal and walked inside. There are ticket counters for more than 30
airlines in the Bradley Terminal, but Hadayet found his way to El Al's,
at the far northwest corner of the building, and began shooting. He killed
two people and wounded five others before being shot and killed by an
El Al security guard.
Is there a sentient
being on earth who, when presented with these facts, would not conclude
that Hadayet left home that morning with no other intent but to kill as
many Jews as possible? If he had not been so quickly subdued, if every
one of the bullets he carried had found a Jewish victim, would authorities
still be as reluctant to label Hadayet a terrorist? Even if the FBI can
establish no links between Hadayet and any known terrorist organization
— and they claim to have found no such links thus far — he is
no less of a terrorist than if he had worn a kuffiyeh on his head
and carried Yasser Arafat's home telephone number in his wallet.
The shootings have
of course provoked the usual hysteria over guns, with gun-control advocates
conveniently forgetting that it was an armed civilian who prevented Hadayet
from shooting even more victims. We have also heard calls for changes
to airport security measures, such as moving the screening stations to
some location away from the terminals, thereby creating a safe zone within
the entire airport itself. This may sound attractive until one remembers
that in a recent test of security precautions at 32 major airports around
the country, screeners failed to detect an average of 25 percent of the
simulated bombs and weapons carried through checkpoints by testers. At
LAX the failure rate was an appalling 41 percent. And if Mr. Hadayet had
been required to pass through security, as a man of Middle Eastern descent
he no doubt would have sailed through with a handshake and a slap on the
back lest the screeners give the appearance of engaging in racial profiling.
Instead they would have busied themselves rifling
the belongings of old women, young children, and former vice presidents.
We should mourn those
who were killed in the attack and pray for the speedy recovery of the
wounded, but we can be thankful that for Mr. Hadayet justice was swift,
sure, and final. I suspect that by now he has discovered that the hereafter
will not measure up to his golden expectations.
—
Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. "Jack
Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are
his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD management.
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t
is axiomatic among police officers and detectives — the cops who
actually do the work that cops are supposed to do — that the more
brass that shows up at your crime scene, the more difficult it will be
to do your job. If what occurred at Los Angeles International Airport
last Thursday had instead taken place just a few miles to the east, in
South Central Los Angeles, the highest-ranking cop to respond would have
been a lieutenant, one who would understand that his role was to stay
out of the way of the dozen or so cops who would be trying to get a handle
on things. 
