Police bolster patrols at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport light-rail stations

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Metro Transit police are beefing up patrols to combat crime and harassment at the airport's light-rail stations after fielding complaints from employees and passengers for months.

Under a mutual aid pact struck between the two departments earlier this month, two airport police officers will patrol the Blue Line trains and stations at Terminals 1 and 2 daily from 4 a.m. to noon, according to Airport Police Chief Matt Christenson.

Two Metro Transit police officers will take over between noon and about 1 a.m., when Blue Line service is limited between the two terminals. Federal air marshals from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will augment the enhanced police presence, Christenson told the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) on Tuesday.

"It doesn't mean that everything will be solved right away," Christenson told the commission. "Our presence is there, Metro Transit's presence is there … We want everyone here to be safe — not only our employees, but our passengers, too."

As air travel rebounded last year following a precipitous drop during the COVID-19 outbreak, complaints increased from airport and airline employees who use light rail to get to work, as well as from passengers traveling between the two terminals.

Most of the complaints are a microcosm of the issues dogging light rail and some bus service in the Twin Cities, including crime, harassment of passengers, drug and alcohol use, and sanitary concerns.

The concerns have prompted a broader response from Metro Transit, which has embraced a safety and security action plan and pushed measures at the Legislature to improve safety on the region's public transportation system. But these efforts have been thwarted in part by persistent shortages of police and community service officers.

MAC Chair Rick King said the "stopgap" fix at the airport is "not a long-term thing, it's a short-term thing as people get their staffing in order and provide the services that they should be providing."

In many cases, airport employees who work at the main terminal park at Terminal 2 and use light rail during early morning or late-night hours. Some have said they feel unsafe because of crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and people experiencing mental health issues aboard the trains.

Airport employees have created a Facebook page — MSP Airport Light Rail Incidents — documenting episodes aboard the Blue Line between the terminals. The page, which had more than 200 members as of Wednesday and was created Feb. 12, depicts trash, a crime scene, drug use, and a video of a naked man running through a train car.

Metro Transit Spokesman Drew Kerr said that in addition to the enhanced security presence at the airport, Metro Transit staff will clean trains between trips at the Mall of America station from noon to 8 p.m. daily. The practice of extra cleaning is already being done on the Green Line between Target Field Station and Union Depot.

When asked what the feedback has been to the security boost over the past two weeks, Christenson said, "There's a lot of work to do. The entire system is the challenge, and we're focused on a really small subset. It's like trying to fix the plumbing in your house when the main line's broke."

He said airport police probably won't be dealing with people sleeping on the train, unless there's a safety issue or if a passenger is in crisis. "But this does mean we're making more arrests" for other issues, he added.

TSA and MAC employees have the option of parking at Terminal 1, while Delta Air Lines workers can park offsite. Other employee groups have pushed the MAC to allow them to park at the main terminal, which would eliminate the need to take light rail to and from work.

MAC Spokesman Jeff Lea said there isn't enough parking capacity at Terminal 1 to accommodate both employees and passengers.

"The ongoing recovery of air travel means Terminal 1 parking ramps continue to reach capacity on peak travel days," Lea said. "The MAC wants to reduce the possibility that travelers will unexpectedly get diverted to Terminal 2 and risk missing their flights."

He said the MAC's 2023 travel forecast anticipates 17,500 vehicles would be diverted to Terminal 2 throughout the year if more employees were parking at Terminal 1.

"This whole thing could be solved if they let employees park at Terminal 1," said Rick Paulson, who sits on the executive committee of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1833, representing some 300 workers at the airport. "I've never seen any ramp that has been totally full.

"We should not be subjected to this environment," Paulson said.