Airport Shuttle To Bwi

DC teen who fled from BWI is latest to escape from city juvenile authorities

D.C. youth corrections officers were dispatched to Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport on Sunday afternoon to pick up a city teen who is facing assault charges and has a history of escaping from authorities.

But they arrived 15 minutes late. By the time they got there, Brandon Sparrow, 18, had run, making quick work of the guard from Utah who had escorted him on and off the plane.

Sparrow, who was caught Tuesday, is the latest D.C. youth to flee from juvenile justice authorities. The escape prompted finger pointing from the corrections union, outrage from a D.C. Council member and self-examination from the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), which vowed to change some policies and regulations.

“Arriving late under these circumstances cannot be justified,” said council member Jim Graham, (D-Ward 1), who oversees the department. “This appears to be a DYRS lapse. Why wasn’t this individual in restraints?”

Christopher Shorter, spokesman and chief of staff for Neil Stanley, interim DYRS director, said general practice is for officers to arrive 45 minutes early when picking up a detainee at an airport.

“But that is not formally in our transportation policy,” Shorter said. “This forces the agency to look at internal policy and protocols. It will be part of our written policy going forward.”

Sparrow, who was found in Southeast Washington on Tuesday morning by U.S. Marshals, was to be taken from the airport to New Beginnings, the secure facility in Laurel for D.C. youths.

Tasha Williams, chairwoman of the union that represents correctional officers at New Beginnings, said the supervisors who dispatched officers to the airport declined to send ones with expertise in transporting detainees.

“He’s a high-risk offender. He’s a flight risk,” Williams said. “Protocol is to send experienced transportation officers who would have been in place 45 minutes early.”

Williams said that the agency’s transportation coordinator was fired months ago and that the position remains vacant. She said there are only three officers who have expertise in detainee transport, and none of them was sent to the airport Sunday.

“This would not have happened if they sent people with the right training,” she said.

Shorter initially said the officers were late because the plane Sparrow was on had landed early.

BWI Airport Taxi Service Contract Extended One More Year ...

The Maryland Board of Public Works has recently decided to extend the BWI Airport taxi contract for one more year to BWI Taxi Management Inc which currently operates at the Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Intl Airport.

The one year extension will allow BWI Taxi to operate from the Baltimore Airport until atleast June 30, 2012 .  This is the 4th consecutive one year extension for BWI Taxi Management Inc.  The State will receive approximately $2 million dollars in revenue from this contract.

The Maryland Aviation Administration which operates the BWI Airport had recommended Dulles Airport Taxi Inc for the new exclusive airport taxi contract.  Dulles Airport Taxi Inc had the highest bid at $7.1M for a 4 year contract and was approximately $1 million dollars more than the bid from BWI Taxi.

The Maryland Department of Transportation had also recommended the board to award the exclusive taxi contract to Dulles Airport Taxi Inc.

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