TIA police chief to retire next week

TAMPA -- After 11 years on the job, the chief of police for Tampa International Airport is saying goodbye.

L. Warren Bennett gave airport authorities his resignation letter Tuesday, said TIA spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan.

"I just feel it's my time," Bennett wrote in the letter. "The journey's been great. I hope I've made a difference."

Bennett, 65, said his retirement will be effective Feb. 28. Geoghagan said some members of the department met with him Tuesday to discuss whether he would delay his retirement for two months until a replacement is found.

Bennett could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

In 1991, Bennett came to the department after working for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and for Tampa police. He served 23 years with TPD, and retired from that job with the rank of major.

During Bennett's tenure at the airport, he oversaw the deputization of some officers as U.S. marshals. Before 1998, airport police lost jurisdiction once a plane pushed back from the gate. Officers can now handle problems on a plane when it is on the ground or in the air.

But Bennett's department also was criticized that year by dozens of citizens, who said officers who were directing curbside traffic were abusive and mean. Bennett replaced the officers with special traffic enforcement employees who received customer service training.

When Bennett started at the airport in 1991, the department had 84 employees. It now has 117.

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, airport police have been under pressure to provide greater security for the airport, which saw 16-million passengers come through its doors in 2000.

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