Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed.pdf

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 81.04 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FLYING ARMED Revised: April 13, 2021 I. PURPOSE: This purpose of this standard operating procedure is to provide employees with information and requirements necessary to comply with Transportation Secur...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 81.04 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FLYING ARMED Revised: April 13, 2021 I. PURPOSE: This purpose of this standard operating procedure is to provide employees with information and requirements necessary to comply with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules allowing Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) to carry concealed firearms while traveling on commercial airlines. II. PROCEDURE: A. SUMMARY: 1. TSA has developed a process by which State and local LEOs flying armed will be required to submit a request to TSA via NLETS ORI VAFAM0199. After automated validation of the NLETS request, a return message will be sent to the requesting department indicating that the State or local LEO is approved to fly armed and provide a unique eight-character alphanumeric identifier, which must be brought to the TSA checkpoint. B. REQUIREMENTS: 1. In order to fly armed under TSA guidelines, a LEO must meet the following requirements: a. Be a federal LEO or a full-time municipal, county, or state LEO who is a direct employee of a government agency. b. Be sworn and commissioned to enforce criminal statutes or immigration statutes. c. Have the operational need to fly armed. d. Be authorized by the employing agency to have the weapon in connection with assigned duties. e. Complete the training program “Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed.” f. Receive NLETS confirmation a minimum of 24 hours prior to travel to ensure routing of information prior to the day of travel. Effective: October 13, 2009 Revised: April 13, 2021 Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed SOP No. 81.04 Page 1 of 5 C. APPROVAL: 1. An LEO shall submit a memo to the chief of police or his/her designee through his/her chain of command requesting permission to fly armed. 2. The memo shall include the dates of travel and the reason the LEO is requesting to fly armed. D. NLETS MESSAGE: 1. The LEO shall contact Communications Section to have a public safety dispatcher (PSD) transmit a properly formatted message, via NLETS, to ORI VAFAM0199. 2. AIRPORT CODE: a. The airport code is a three-letter designator for a commercial airport. These are the codes that airlines and pilots use to identify airports and are used in timetables, baggage tags, tickets, advertisements, airline, and global reservation systems. b. Three letter airport codes are https://adip.faa.gov/agis/public/#/airportSearch/advanced 3. available at ITINERARY CHANGES/TRAVEL DELAYS: a. If the change(s) do not affect the date of travel, the existing NLETS message will be accepted as long as the LEO is traveling through the same airports. b. If the date of travel or airport information changes, a new NLETS message will be required. 4. PRISONER ESCORT FIELDS: a. The following are codes that may be used in NLETS messages: i. EIT – Escorted Individual Type ii. EIN – Escorted Individual Name iii. CAP – Connecting Airport iv. The EIT, EIN and CAP fields, if not applicable, may be omitted from the NLETS message. 5. SAMPLE NLETS MESSAGE: Sample Employing Agency Message Effective: October 13, 2009 Revised: April 13, 2021 Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed SOP No. 81.04 Page 2 of 5 AM.PASO12345.VAFAMS0100.*0008000001.TXT LEOFA NAM/Smith, Joe. AGY/Broward Sheriff's Office. BCN/BSO123456. OFC/State. NAO/Washington, George. CRT/Yes. CPN/7031234989. APN/2023456789. EIT/Prisoner. EIN/Smith, John. NOA/American Airlines. FLN/AA1234. DOF/122508. DAP/DCA. CAP/EWR. FDA/BOS. Sample Return Message AM.VAFAMS0199.PASO12345. TXT Flying Armed LEO Request Approved. Your unique ID code is: WCx87947 Name: Joe Smith Agency: Broward Sheriff's Department Authorizing Official: George Washington Badge/Credential: BSO123456 Has Department Letter: Yes Completed Training: Yes Cell Phone: 7031234989 Escorted Individual Type: Prisoner Escorted Individual: Smith, John Airline: American Airlines Flight Number: AA1234 Flight Date: 122508 Departing Airport: DCA Connecting Airport: EWR Final Destination Airport: BOS Effective: October 13, 2009 Revised: April 13, 2021 Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed SOP No. 81.04 Page 3 of 5 Print out this reply and present it at the airport's LEO Lane. E. AT THE AIRPORT: 1. When at the airport, the LEO shall adhere to the following procedures: a. Obtain a receipt from the PSD of the NLETS unique eight-character alphanumeric identifier, as transmitted from the Transportation Security Operations Center (TSOC) to the LEO’s employing agency, at a minimum 24 hours prior to the date of flying armed. b. Identify him/herself upon check-in with the airline ticket counter and confirm he/she is in possession of a unique alphanumeric number received via NLETS. After identification, the LEO shall receive armed traveler paperwork provided by the airline and proceed to the Armed LEO Screening Checkpoint. c. Provide the Unique Alphanumeric Identifier from the NLETS message and display his/her badge, credentials, boarding pass, a second form of government identification, and required airline paperwork, commonly referred to as Person Carrying Firearms (PCFA) Form at the Armed LEO Screening Checkpoint. d. Complete the LEO Logbook and proceed to his/her boarding gate. e. Provide the airlines with the armed traveler paperwork and inform the gate agent of his/her presence and status at the boarding gate. f. Meet with the pilot in command, Federal Air Marshals, Federal Flight Deck Officers, and/or other LEOs onboard the flight as directed. g. In addition to the above requirements, municipal, county, state, tribal, or territorial officers must present an operational need to have the weapon accessible from the time he or she would otherwise check the weapon, until the time it would be claimed after deplaning. The need to have the weapon accessible aboard the aircraft must be determined by the employing agency and based on one of the following: i. Assigned to a protective duty as a principal or advance team, or on travel required to be prepared to engage in a protective function. ii. Conducting a hazardous surveillance operation. iii. On official travel with a requirement to report to another location armed and prepared for duty immediately upon landing. iv. Control of a prisoner, or on a round trip ticket returning from escorting or traveling to pick up a prisoner. Effective: October 13, 2009 Revised: April 13, 2021 Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed SOP No. 81.04 Page 4 of 5 v. Employed as a federal law enforcement officer, whether or not on official travel, and traveling armed in accordance with the policies or directives of the employing agency. Approved: Michele Miuccio Chief of Police Effective: October 13, 2009 Revised: April 13, 2021 Date: Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed SOP No. 81.04 Page 5 of 5