INGLEWOOD : Hiring of Bodyguard for Sen. Hughes Defended

The executive officer of the Senate Rules committee on Friday defended the panel’s hiring of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer to guard state Sen. Teresa Hughes (D-Inglewood) as “fiscally prudent.”

“She’s a prominent public government official and therefore is at some risk, as is every member of the Senate,” said Cliff Berg, Rules Committee executive officer.

The committee agreed to pay an off-duty Los Angeles police officer $30 an hour--up to a maximum of $900 a month--to protect Hughes when she attends meetings at night or on weekends in her district.

“It seems to me that it’s a fairly minor expenditure for what’s a fairly serious problem for the senator. It’s an appropriate request,” Berg said. No other senator has made a similar request, Berg added.

“Basically, security for government officials is a normal and routine thing. Members of the Senate are fairly well-known and security always remains an important consideration,” he said.