CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Yeager Airport Police Chief Eric Johnson says the airport is more safe and secure since they implemented 24/7 officer shifts last month.
“Some of the reasons why we were able to implement it so quickly is because it became a priority,” Johnson said.
In July, a man allegedly broke into the Charleston airport and made it onto the runway. Police said Daylen Brightwell got into one of the planes and rummaged through things. A judge ruled last month that Brightwell was incompetent to stand trial.
While the airport is still investigating how Brightwell gained access to the secured area, Johnson said they have not had any similar incidents since switching over to 24-hour police protection.
“We haven’t had anything to that degree at this point, but we are now prepared for it should it happen again,” he said.
The new shifts were implemented Sept. 18. Officers went from working 10 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts. Two officers are on duty at all times. Yeager currently has eight full time officers and five part time officers.
Before the 24-hour shifts, Johnson said maintenance workers would report problems during the overnight overs because officers were off duty from about 12 a.m. to 4 a.m.
“The airport has several systems in place, several different types of motion sensors, alarm sensors, microwave beams to detect the movement of anything around the airport or around on the air operations area out on the airfield. With that 24-hour protection, police can now respond immediately to those things,” he said.
Keeping the airport, its passengers and employees safe is the most important thing, Johnson said.
“You look at what just happened in Las Vegas, you look back a month or so ago at Charlottesville, Virginia, even overseas in Paris — just looking at domestic and international terrorism alone — it’s vital that we have 24-hour protection,” he said.