JFK Guards Dozing: Video Goes Viral of Airport Guard Dozing on Duty (PHOTO)
JFK Airport guards have been caught dozing off in video footage that has now gone viral on the Internet.
New York's busiest airport is also one of the busiest in the world, with passengers from all over the country and the world coming through the terminals every single day.
Obviously, security is a huge issue at the airport, but it appears as though the sight of security personnel sleeping at the airport is not an uncommon occurrence. Stephen Jackson, who is a former manager for FJC Security, which employs about 300 security guards at JFK Airport, has reported that it was shockingly common to see JFK Airport guards dozing off.
Jackson, a retired Marine who became security-guard supervisor at JFK in December, has said, "It was a regular occurrence finding the guards sleeping."
Jackson was in fact fired in May for what he describes as a "campaign of harassment" against him because of his whistleblowing.
The former security manager described an incident last August where dozing guards caused a security alert at JFK. Jackson described that 68-year-old Suhas Harite fell asleep while on watch at a remote post near Jamaica Bay. That allowed a jet-skier, who became stranded, to breach a 6 foot security fence, which is part of the Port Authority's $100 million Perimeter Intrusion Detection System. The lapse in security allowed the person to walk across two airport runways before he was detected.
Jackson also points to a video he took last year which showed a guard sleeping behind the wheel of his vehicle while he was supposed to be on duty. Jackson can be heard honking the horn of his vehicle while shouting at the guard, "Come on, buddy. Wake up!"