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American Morning

Federal Government Says It Will No Longer Do Business with Argenbright

Aired February 07, 2002 - 07:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Some new developments in airport and airline security to tell you about this morning. The federal government says it will no longer do business with Argenbright, the controversial firm that was responsible for security at Boston's Logan Airport on 9-11, when two jets were hijacked leaving there. And the government has approved a plan to put members of the California Highway Patrol on flights within that state.

But we turn this morning to a place where the police may not be doing their part to protect the flying pilot. It is at Denver's International Airport. The local TV station's hidden cameras captured police officers over a two-month period spending hours behind closed doors in a break room instead of on patrol at the airport. The footage has angered city officials and triggered an internal police department probe.

Investigative reporter Brian Maass with station KCNC in Denver broke the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN MAASS, KCNC INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): It's a generic, nondescript door tucked away in the main terminal at DIA. Room 6370. But it's a magnet for Denver officers working at the airport. There's a steady stream of cops in and out. If you figured it's a police command post filled with high-tech gear to monitor the airport, you're wrong. It's a lounge for paramedics and police. There are chairs scattered around, a TV, a couple of desks and a bed for paramedics.

But as we watched over the course of two months, picking days at random, we found Denver police officers assigned to patrol the airport terminal spending hours of their shift holed up in the lounge. Sometimes, as many as four officers at a time unable to see the traveling public or be seen. These officers were allowed one 15-minute break and one 30-minute meal break per shift. Forty-five minutes total. But we found them taking a whole lot more.

Earlier this month, two NFL playoff games were on TV. We watched this officer go in and out of the lounge. In for 24 minutes, out for five. In for 54 minutes, out for 11. In for 28 minutes, then out. In, out, in, out, in, out, a total of 10 times. Spending a total of four hours and 18 minutes in the lounge. That's more than half his eight-hour shift in a lounge that's off limits to the public.

Same day, same shift, we watched this officer spend nearly three hours of his shift in the lounge. A third officer on the same shift has a similar pattern. He, too, spends nearly three hours in the lounge.

All this, after September 11th , after 20 extra officers were assigned to the airport. After checkpoints were put in place at DIA. After the National Guard was brought in. After an alleged shoe bomber was arrested. After at least one of the September 11th terrorists had passed through DIA. You might think all airport officers were on high alert. It did not look that way to us.

A week before Christmas; a busy time for air travel. "Monday Night Football" is on. We watched this officer enter at 6:06. When we leave at 8:15, more than two hours later, he is still inside. And two other officers are in the lounge nearly as long.

Also in January, it's a day after the National Guard presence at DIA has been decreased. So are the Denver officers more vigilant? We watched for four hours. In that time, this officer is inside for more than two hours out of the four. This officer spent an hour 22 minutes in the lounge. And this one was inside for an hour and 17 minutes. Now remember, their regulations call for 45 minutes of break time per eight-hour shift.

We hardly ever saw the officers carry any paperwork, like official reports in or out of the lounge. And more than once, we watched police sergeants drop by and leave, leaving several officers in the lounge. Two weeks ago, an (UNINTELLIGIBLE) game is on TV. This officer is in the lounge for nearly two hours straight while the game is on. And a second officer is also inside for nearly as long.

We wanted to see what's going on in there, so we went in under cover. In a darkened back room, an officer is watching TV. He had been there nearly an hour before we ever arrived. No report writing or anything official seems to be going on. The sergeant makes it clear he doesn't like what's on TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I don't like Peter Boyles (ph).

MAASS: DIA Police Captain Tom Sanchez claims he heard three months ago his cops might be loafing.

CAPT. TOM SANCHEZ: We've been looking at, like I say, since well in November we started looking at that problem.

MAASS: But if he knew, why didn't he stop it? Remember our surveillance was after November, all through December and January. And it looked like nothing had been done.

ED THOMAS, DENVER CITY COUNCIL DIA CMTE.: This is an affront. This is awful.

MAASS: We showed what we found to Ed Thomas, who heads Denver City Council's DIA Committee. When security lines at DIA became unbearable after September 11th, Thomas successfully pushed to get additional Denver officer paid overtime to help alleviate the lines. The extra cops are costing about $5,000 a day.

THOMAS: The traveling public are spooked and justifiably so. They need to have the presence of uniformed Denver police officers out there to reassure them that it's safe to travel. And what are these guys doing? They're spending four hours a day watching "The Brady Bunch." It is inexcusable. If there was any supervision out there at all, this kind of activity wouldn't -- wouldn't be going on. It's disgraceful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Joining us now Denver, KCNC Investigative Reporter Brian Maass and Ari Zavaras, Manager of the city's Department of Safety. Thanks very much for being with us this morning.

Brian, let me start off with you. How did you find out about what was going on at the airport?

MAASS: We had been made aware of this after September 11th, went out there, began watching without any cameras. And it was a very short time that we noticed what was going on and said this is something that deserves further investigation.

COOPER: How did you set up the hidden cameras? Where did you do it and how were you able to maintain them for so long?

MAASS: We had a team of two people and a camera who would sit in the same place for anywhere from four to eight hours per shift. And they were never bothered by anybody. Nobody ever asked them what they were doing. And we did this over the course of about two months. They were only about 100 feet away from that lounge door.

COOPER: Now, Brian, in your piece you asked Captain Tom Sanchez why he didn't do anything about what was going on in the break room. We didn't hear his response. What was his response?

MAASS: He said he was aware of this about three months ago in November. And he said the solution was to close that door off and not let the officers in there anymore. But he didn't do that right away. He only did that a few days before our report aired, when he got wind of what we were doing, which was kind of odd. His boss, the police chief, said to us just a couple of days ago -- he said, "Nobody knew about this in November." So there are conflicting stories about who knew what, when.

COOPER: All right. Ari Zavaras, I want to bring you in at this point. A lot of people in Denver and around the United States who are hearing about this are very upset. I want to read you an editorial from the "Rocky Mountain News." It says, "Members of the former DIA Goldbrick Gang are lucky they're not in the armed forces: In wartime under Article 99 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, abandoning one's post in the face of an armed enemy can earn you a firing squad. We're not suggesting anybody be shot, but if the errant officers are found guilty of infractions, they should be suitably punished. Will these officers be punished?

ARI ZAVARAS, MANAGER DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY: Yes, they will. I think -- and it' already become public -- we've made numerous transfers in the command structure at the airport and we are in the process of the internal investigation that will take a little bit of time. There is some due process we have to follow. But as we substantiate exactly what was just seen on tape, there will be probably quite a bit of discipline.

COOPER: But it would seem -- I mean it would seem to be that this is not just a personal failure on the part of these officers. It would seem to be a failure of oversight. Brian pointed out sergeants went in and never really asked the officers to leave. What confidence should the public have that the Denver police can investigate this on their own?

ZAVARAS: Well let me say, first of all, that the other officers of the department, the other men and women that make up the Denver Police Department, which is a fine organization, are actually the people most upset. I think the public has to have total confidence. We're working hard to restore that. We realize how something like this impacts it. But I want to emphasize that the overwhelming majority of all Denver officers -- those assigned to the airport and other places -- are dead set on carrying out their duties and doing what they should be doing.

COOPER: Well let me ask you about that -- I mean you say the public should have confidence. Just yesterday, George Tenet, Director of the CIA, said that al Qaeda is still very capable of operating a full-scale attack here in the United States. After 9-11, you assigned 20 additional officers to the airport at a cost of something like $5,000 a day to taxpayers. And now we learn that a number of those officers were watching TV or hanging out. How can you say that the public has confidence or should have confidence?

ZAVARAS: Well, first of all, we've looked at this closely. We do not feel that any security at the airport was compromised while these officers were...

COOPER: How can you say that? If you've ordered 20 extra officers, you need 20 extra pair of eyes, we've now learned that at least eight of those eyes -- or eight of those pairs of eyes were watching TV. How can you say the security isn't compromised?

ZAVARAS: Well, we did a -- we've looked closely at everything that was going on. We've done well over 100 interviews. And everything we've determined at this point is that there wasn't any compromise in the security out there. I understand the question. I think the other officers were deployed in doing exactly what they should. And I'd also emphasize, again, this was a very small percentage of individuals that were performing in this way.

COOPER: Brian, we've got to go. Just very briefly, is this investigation ongoing on your part? MAASS: Absolutely. We're going to monitor what the police and what the Department of Safety are doing. They are in the middle of a pretty intense investigation, as Mr. Zavaras said. Certainly, they have transferred already 10 people out of the airport, the captain, a lieutenant, three sergeants and five other officers. One of those officers retired. We're going to watch and see if there is discipline down the road, see if there are more transfers, and we're going to let the public know.

COOPER: All right. Brian Maass, Investigative Reporter, thanks very much. And Ari Zavaras, Manager of Denver's Department of Safety, thanks very much -- Paula.

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