Chicago Airport Security Chief Fired

CHICAGO, IL — On a day that saw closure concerning the threat of legal action from a United Airlines passenger who was violently dragged from a flight by Chicago Aviation Police, the man in charge of those officers has been fired after the attention he received from the now-infamous April 9 incident at O'Hare International Airport led to the discovery that he allegedly misled city officials about accusations of sex-for-work favors that cut his tenure short at the Illinois Tollway, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and other news outlets. Jeffrey Redding had been in his role as Chicago's deputy commissioner for security at O'Hare International and Midway airports since February 2016.

SIGN UP: Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.

“Effective today, Jeffrey Redding has been terminated from his duties at the Chicago Department of Aviation,” spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said in an emailed statement late Thursday, the Sun-Times reports. Assistant Commissioner Kevin Zator beomces the interim deputy commissioner, added Huffman, who did not give a reason for the firing.

In 2015, Redding was fired from his position as chief of operations at the Illinois Tollway amid sexual harassment claims from a female toll collector he supervised, the Chicago Tribune reported last week. The woman accused Redding of providing work favors in exchange for sex and money, which he would request from the toll collector, according to the report. Redding, who admitted to the Tribune that he had a consenual sexual relationship with the woman, was let go by the tollway only six months before he was hired on as deputy security commissioner by the city.

RELATED: United Passenger, Airline Reach Confidential Settlement In Dragging Incident

During his hiring interview, Redding told Department of Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans that the reason he was fired from his tollway position was because of the normal political reshuffling then-Governor-elect Bruce Rauner, the Sun-Times reports. But when four Chicago Aviation Police officers forcibly removing Dr. David Dao from his United Airlines flight put the spotlight on the force and Redding, Evans became privvy to "information that made her question the veracity of his earlier statements,” an anonymous top mayoral aide told the Sun-Times.

The attention the United case — which is still under investigation by Evans, as well as Inspector General Joe Ferguson — brought on Redding led to officials eventually discovering that he had not fully divulged the tollway allegations to them. The airline incident, however, did not lead to Redding's firing, according to the Sun-Times.

RELATED: United Passenger Was 'Aggressive'; Aviation Cops Used 'Minimal But Necessary Force': Incident Report

In the April 9 incident, Dao was one of four people randomly chosen to be bumped from United Express flight 3411 so that airline employees could fly. He was dragged down the plane's aisle by the aviation police officers when he refused to give up his seat. Dao told officers he needed to get home because he had patients to see the next day. He was bloodied in the altercation and suffered a "significant concussion" and a broken nose, as well as losing two teeth, according to his attorney.

Earlier Thursday, April 27, a settlement between United Airlines and Dao was announced. Provisions of the deal, however, require the amount of the settlement to remain confidential. The deal with United also means Dao will not be filing legal action against the City of Chicago. Four Chicago Aviation Police officers, however, have been placed on administrative leave while the aviation department reviews the officers' roles in the incident.

RELATED: Merge Aviation Cops With Chicago Police Department, Alderman Proposes

A former Chicago police officer who was on the force for nearly 20 years from August 1986 until March 2006, Redding served as an investigator for the Illinois Tollway for almost two years before becoming chief of operations in January of 2008. As deputy commissioner, Redding earned $118,020 annually heading up the 292-member Chicago Aviation Police.

Finding new, permanent leadership isn't the only issue facing the city's airport security force. Before the United incident, the City Council had discussed arming Chicago Aviation Police officers. In the wake of the incident, Alderman Ray Lopez (15th Ward) — a Southwest Airlines skycap for a dozen years — proposed merging the aviation security force with the Chicago Police Department under the umbrella of the CPD.

While they graduate from the Chicago Police Training Academy and act as a de facto police force with arrest powers at O'Hare and Midway airports, aviation officers receive only four months of training — compared to the six months required by Chicago police officers — and are prohibited from carrying guns. Lopez's suggestion would solve the issue of arming aviation officers, as well as giving them additional training.

But having the CPD absorb the aviation force would require the city's bottom line to take a significant hit. The Chicago Aviation Police costs the city $19 million to operate, but airport officers currently earn less in pay and benefits than they would as full-fledged CPD officers. Lopez thinks the additional expense would be worth it; Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office, however, is unconvinced a merger is the right solution.

More via the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune

Jeffrey Redding (photo via City of Chicago | Chicago Department of Aviation)

Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!

• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Check out the Events Calendar for what’s going on