Federal authorities Thursday acknowledged that security procedures at Los Angeles International Airport were not followed when an off- duty Santa Monica police officer boarded a flight to Taiwan with a personal handgun in her carry-on bag.
Officer Noell Grant entered Taiwan on April 13 and was barred from leaving the country after the handgun was discovered in her possession, Nico Melendez of the Transportation Security Administration said.
The TSA “has determined standard procedures were not followed and a police officer did in fact pass through the (LAX) checkpoint with a firearm,” Melendez said.
Grant had gone to Taiwan for a vacation, and was carrying a personal, not a department, weapon, the Daily News reported.
“My understanding is she’s able to move about, (but) she cannot leave the country until the matter is resolved,” Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez told the newspaper on Wednesday.
Rodriguez could not say if she had been arrested or charged with a crime in that country. He was not available for comment Thursday.
Asked by the newspaper whether the incident could affect Grant’s status as a police officer, Rodriguez said it was not yet clear.
—City News Service