After more than two decades of having sheriff’s deputies stationed inside the terminal, the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport has replaced sworn law enforcement with private security as a cost-saving measure.
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) stopped providing airport security Feb. 28 of this year. Deputies were employed as part of measures to increase security around airports following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, in which hijackers turned planes into weapons.
Last year, the airport paid KCSO $458,000 in cost reimbursements, said Airport Director Craig Williams in an interview with NowKalamazoo.
“We don’t get any general fund money, any tax money, so we’re always looking at our bottom line,” Williams said. “And we’re always looking at ways we could handle our security services a little more efficiently.”
The airport has contracted with private security company Pro-Tec to provide security at the airport. Williams said Pro-Tec or airport staff will call the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety if there’s an emergency or they need local law enforcement.
Williams said the change meets federal requirements and Transportation Security Administration, which maintains its staff at the airport, approved the model before it was implemented. He said there was no period of time when the airport was without security.
KCSO provides contracted services to townships and villages throughout the county, as an alternative to having their own police departments. Kalamazoo County Vice Chair Pro Temp Jeff Heppler said at the March 17 county commission meeting that there are current discussions underway to ensure that “it’s a fair price that those folks pay,” which is “the better part of almost $2 million” a year total.
The shift followed months of negotiation between the airport and the KCSO. Chief Deputy Logan Bishop said in an interview with NowKalamazoo, the airport first approached the sheriff’s office last July with concerns about its budget and a proposal to eliminate a supervisory personnel role following the retirement of the unit sergeant.
“We didn’t think that was a great idea,” Bishop said. “The unit required some direct supervision, and so we committed to thinking about some other options where they could save some money.”
KCSO offered an alternative cost‑saving model that reduced hours and converted full‑time deputies to part‑time positions. Bishop said the proposal met the airport’s requested savings, but airport leadership opted to issue a countywide request for proposals instead.
When the proposals were not what the airport was looking for, they searched for private security companies to take the role, according to Bishop. KCSO agreed to extend coverage through February to allow the airport time to transition to a new provider.
Bishop said the airport’s costs under the old arrangement covered only deputies’ wages, overtime, and benefits. The Sheriff’s Office paid for everything else, including vehicles, equipment, uniforms, training, and certifications. When the airport issued its Request For Proposals, it required full‑time staffing, supervision, vehicles, and administrative fees, which Bishop said drove KCSD’s proposal to nearly double the airport’s previous costs.
The airport ultimately selected Pro‑Tec, whose combined fire and security contract for 2026 totals about $815,000, Williams said. The company is contracted for the next three years.
“They’re (Pro-Tec) ensuring that people are not getting out of control, and if there’s any issues, then we call law enforcement,” Williams said.
County Commissioner John Gisler, a member of the county board that oversees the airport’s operations, said in an interview with NowKalamazoo, the board approved the change after reviewing the airport’s budget constraints and the sheriff’s revised pricing.
“This vendor has already been an established vendor to the airport since 1984 for fire and EMT, so that made it a lot easier for some of the newer board members to vote yes,” he said.
It’s Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of government transparency and the public’s right to know. More information on NowKalamazoo’s Sunshine Week events can be found here. The meeting minutes and other documentation of the Kalamazoo County Aeronautics Board of Trustees are not available or easily found on either the county’s or the airport’s websites, despite being a public body. The county website says “Meeting dates, times, and locations are posted on the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport Website,” though no such information could be found on the airport website. It references the board’s bylaws, but there’s no link to those details. And, it refers people to contact the airport director for pre-2025 meeting documents.
At the March 17 county commission meeting, Gisler noted that “the firm that will be doing the security at the airport now will have no arrest capability, (and) they won’t carry weapons.”
Bishop said deputies assigned to the airport handled a wide range of duties, including gate coverage during flight operations, responding to alarms on the perimeter and inside the terminal, monitoring cameras, collecting contraband from TSA, handling rental‑car theft reports, and addressing suspicious activity or people entering the building overnight. It was common for a KCSO vehicle to be parked outside the terminal. Bishop said the unit responded to about 110 calls for service in 2025.
Security personnel do not have the same authority to detain or carry weapons as sheriff’s deputies, meaning public safety will still need to be alerted in case of emergency or legal issue.
“They are not law enforcement officers,” Bishop said. “Time is often of the essence when it’s an emergent situation, so it could potentially be an issue.”
TSA regulation 49 CFR Part 1542 states that airports must have a description of law enforcement support in their TSA-approved security plan, but does not require sworn officers inside the terminal around the clock.
Both agencies said the change was a fiscal decision made in the interest of their own organizations. The deputies who had been assigned to the airport have since taken other positions within the Sheriff’s Office.
“There was not a hostile separation,” Bishop said. “We’d be happy to be back out there, but we need to compensate the people that work out there … the people that respond to the emergencies.”
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