(Los Angeles, CA) Today, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) announced the promotion of Latasha Wells Amerson and Tyrone D. Stallings to Assistant Chiefs with the Airport Police Division (APD). Both candidates have been serving in these positions as emergency appointments. Stallings was appointed Acting Assistant Chief in August 2019 and Wells Amerson was emergency appointed in January of this year. Assistant Chief Wells Amerson will oversee the Office of Operations and Assistant Chief Stallings will oversee the Office of Homeland Security and Intelligence. Each has been in law enforcement for 28 years.

“During our search to permanently fill our Assistant Chief positions we looked at candidates from across the region, and it was clear to us that the candidates best prepared to take on these important roles were already with us at the APD,” said Cecil W. Rhambo, Chief, APD. “Years of experience with public safety in an airport environment have prepared Assistant Chiefs Wells Amerson and Stallings to excel as they oversee their respective divisions. Over the course of decades, they have proven their ability, flexibility, compassion and thoughtfulness, and I am proud to promote them into these positions.”

“Assistant Chiefs Wells Amerson and Stallings represent the broad range of outstanding talent we have within the Airport Police Division, and I am proud to support their promotions to these positions,” said David L. Maggard, Deputy Executive Director, Homeland Security and Public Safety, LAWA. “Assistant Chiefs Wells Amerson and Stallings both bring decades of experience with the APD, and I know they will complement the outstanding leadership of Chief Rhambo.”

“It is with great enthusiasm that I support the promotions of Assistant Chiefs Wells Amerson and Stallings, and I commend Chief Rhambo and Director Maggard on their collaboration to put in place such a strong leadership team,” said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, LAWA. “I also am extremely pleased to see two candidates rise within the ranks of our Airport Police Division and attain such high leadership positions. Both candidates have served the APD, our airports and the community with distinction, and I congratulate them and wish them all the best as they take on these key roles in keeping our airports safe and secure.” 

Assistant Chief Latasha Wells Amerson began her law enforcement career with the Los Angeles Airport Police in 1992 and graduated from Rio Hondo Police Academy Class 109. As a Sergeant, Wells Amerson was a contributor to the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training Safety Guidelines. As the Chief’s Adjutant, she partnered with Airfield Operations to rewrite and implement the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Security and Airfield Enforcement Program (SAFE), a program dedicated to individual and collective accountability by assigning points for driving, safety, and security infractions on LAX’s Airfield Operations Area (AOA). In 2005, Wells Amerson was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and was assigned as the officer in charge of internal affairs and background investigations. Between 2005 and 2007, she, along with dedicated airport police background investigators, was responsible for facilitating the hiring process for more than 100 new airport police recruits, creating the most continuous and substantial growth of the organization. In 2011, Wells Amerson was promoted to the rank of captain and held assignments as the commanding officer of professional standards – internal affairs, background investigations, training, the firing range and traffic and security. More recently, she commanded the security access control unit. On Dec. 16, 2019, Wells Amerson was promoted to airport police commander as the first female officer to obtain this newly implemented rank. Less than a month later, on Jan. 2, 2020, she was emergency appointed to Assistant Chief of Operations by Chief Rhambo. Wells Amerson obtained a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of West Los Angeles, School of Law where she graduated Cum Laude, and was admitted to the California State Bar in 2006. Wells Amerson’s role as an assistant chief is over the agency’s operations section – patrol, traffic and security, and the crime task force.

A 28-year veteran of the APD, Tyrone D. Stallings was promoted to Acting Assistant Chief of the Office of Homeland Security at LAX in August 2019. His tenure as an Officer (1996-2001) and Sergeant (2001-2005) were spent mostly in the field, developing and executing operational plans and training officers. In 2006, Stallings was the Officer-in-Charge of Police and Security at Van Nuys Airport. As a Lieutenant, he served in key leadership assignments in Patrol Services, including Watch Commander, Executive Officer and Assistant Commanding Officer. In 2014, Stallings was named the Commanding Officer of Ontario International Airport (ONT), and the Airport Security Coordinator (ASC), where he oversaw all Police, Fire/Life Safety/ARFF, Security, K-9 and Communications personnel, as well as all Security-related regulatory responsibilities of ONT. He was instrumental in creating the plan to transition all APD personnel from ONT to LAX when the airport returned to the City of Ontario. Prior to his appointment to Homeland Security, Stallings was appointed twice as the Commanding Officer of the Patrol Services Section at LAX (2012 and 2016). Stallings has received extensive training in police management and emergency response. He graduated from the Los Angeles Police Department’s first National Counterterrorism Academy, and graduated in 2010 with a Master’s degree from Pepperdine University’s Management and Leadership Program.