LAX Incident Raises Debate About Security

A man wanted for threatening police officers and caught last week trying to carry a small arsenal of weapons through a security check at Los Angeles International Airport was freed and allowed to continue on his way by airport police, a decision that has infuriated other law enforcement agencies and raised questions about security at one of the nation's busiest airports.

"They had him and his weapons, and they let him go," said one law enforcement official angered by the airport police's handling of the situation. "The question is why."

The suspect, Mark Lawrence Kulp, was arrested Monday in Minnesota on a warrant involving his alleged threats against police officers in Polk County. He has not been charged with any crime related to last week's incident at the airport.

At the Los Angeles Police Department, officials were diplomatic but acknowledged that they were frustrated by the incident and the decision by the independent airport police to let the suspect go. They blamed subtleties in the laws that govern weapons handling at the airport, but they also complained that airport police were too strict in their interpretation of those laws and too quick to let Kulp go on his way.

Although Kulp's two bags--which were discovered as they passed through the airport's carry-on screening monitors--contained both weapons and ammunition, airport police said that they could not book Kulp for a felony because the weapons were not loaded.

Although the incident was not made public, sources and police reports indicate that it began about 12:30 p.m. Sept. 2, when police saw the outlines of what they believed to be guns inside two bags. Kulp was stopped by airport police, who searched the bags and found a shotgun and a 9-millimeter semiautomatic assault pistol, according to a copy of an airport police report.

In addition, police found handcuffs, a ski mask, knives and more than 100 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition along with boxes of shotgun shells, according to the property report of items taken from Kulp. Kulp's bags also included a metal badge with a blue emblem saying "Sheriff" and "Minnesota."

The bags had been placed on an airport X-ray machine and a security agent saw the weaponry inside, according to the reports. Airport police were notified and Kulp was detained.

Kulp was bound for Minnesota, and when authorities here contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Department, they learned of an outstanding felony warrant for Kulp, who is suspected of making terrorist threats against police officers there.