In a blistering and unprecedented interview, a high-ranking police officer who oversees security at Mineta San Jose International Airport accused city officials of risking passenger safety to save money.

Police Capt. Jeff Smith said a cost-cutting idea to replace San Jose cops at the airport with Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies is “a mistake.”

He also called Sheriff Laurie Smith’s proposal to take over the airport a “disingenuous” power grab that includes promises she cannot fulfill. The San Jose City Council in coming months will decide which agency will patrol the facility.

Jeff Smith, a soon-to-retire special operations commander who is not related to the sheriff, said the county force simply does not have enough deputies to handle a major event like a crash or an act of terror. This, he reasons, leaves the police department in the position of losing authority over the airport, yet maintaining a lion’s share of the responsibility after any major event.

“Our issue is that Laurie Smith is attempting to procure a contract for a service she knows she cannot provide,” Jeff Smith said.

When told of the comments, Assistant Sheriff Edward Perry would only say that if the sheriff’s office were awarded the contract, the city and airport officials would be highly satisfied with the result. But he would not engage in a tit for tat.

“It would not be in the best interest of Santa Clara County residents for us to be defensive or argumentative in response to one man’s opinions,” Perry said. “We enjoy a good working relationship with the men and women of the San Jose Police Department and expect to maintain that harmonious relationship regardless of the outcome of the City Council’s decision.”

But Jeff Smith, a highly respected veteran, pulled few political punches in the newspaper interview, which he requested. He accused City Councilman Sam Liccardo of trying to embarrass the police chief during an airport hearing and said City Manager Debra Figone had “glossed over” the complex issues surrounding airport security to make the City Council’s decision easier. The council is expected to vote between July and next February.

Smith’s scathing remarks come at a time of deep trauma for the Police Department, which is facing layoffs for the first time. The airport patrol is emblematic of that issue: If the department loses its longtime role in securing the facility, which pays for the officers through its own budget, those positions are at risk of being slashed from the city’s police budget.

The interview was even more striking because San Jose police brass rarely speak out against other city officials. Chief Chris Moore and his other commanders have kept their few public comments about the airport low-key and factual.

Moore said that while he highly respects the captain, he did not authorize the interview and that Smith “does not speak for the department.” The chief said he would not, for example, characterize the sheriff’s proposal as a “power grab.”

But Moore did say, without elaboration: “I have concerns about the Sheriff Office’s capacity to perform that contract.”

The city’s police officers have patrolled the airport since 1990, when they replaced an airport police force. Mineta San Jose officials have argued that outsourcing police and fire services is essential to keeping the airport financially sound, as they face debt payments on a $1.3 billion modernization.

San Jose police are paid substantially more than deputies, and their rising pension costs are a key factor in the city’s ongoing and contentious labor battles.

Jeff Smith said that despite airport leaders’ reassurances that security was paramount, officials are “first listening to the dollars and cents.”

He said he understands that the airport is ailing financially and trying to remain competitive. But a police analysis showed that Airport Director Bill Sherry is proposing to spend about 3 percent of his budget on security, compared to other area airports whose security budgets are closer to 11 percent.

“I will never sacrifice safety for savings,” Sherry said in reaction to Smith’s comments. “However, I am exploring how best to provide those services at the most efficient price. Sometimes it’s easy when you can take one slice of the pie and talk about that pie without looking at the whole picture. Jeff perhaps doesn’t have the whole picture.”

Jeff Smith also leveled criticism at Liccardo, a member of the council’s airport subcommittee, who asked Chief Moore last week if there had been any homicides or major assaults at the airport. There have not.

The captain said the question was meant to embarrass Moore.

“If that is the logic we are going to use for a comparison, then the question also begs: How many times has the mayor had attempts made on his life since he has been in office?” Smith said. “None. Yet we still provide the mayor with a full-time bodyguard,” paid out of the Police Department’s budget.

Liccardo, a former prosecutor, said he never meant to embarrass the chief.

“I have great respect for members of the department,” Liccardo said. “But I was asking for any evidence that the distinction between having a sheriff’s deputy or a police officer makes a difference in safety. I look forward to hearing the answer to that question.”

Contact Sean Webby at 408-920-5003.