Officer Eddie Salazar watches as fans enter Dodger Stadium after security was increased due to the beating of a Giants fan on opening day. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times / April 16, 2011)

On a Sunday afternoon in 2008, fans packed into Dodger Stadium for the team's last home game of the season. Watching over the crowd that day were 60 or so uniformed Los Angeles police officers - more cops than typically patrol entire sections of the city.

It was not an unusual arrangement. For years, the Dodgers had been hiring off-duty LAPD officers - many of them from the department's elite Metropolitan Division - to serve as highly visible deterrents inside the venue. Their badges and guns, and the promise of arrest that came with them, were an effective antidote to the drunken belligerence and violence that ticketholders often displayed.

The scene was very different on opening day the next season. The number of LAPD officers working in uniform at the stadium dropped dramatically. Within months they had all but disappeared. Dodger officials had decided to do away with uniformed officers at almost all of the games, opting to rely on security personnel wearing polo shirts and light blue outfits, according to interviews with senior LAPD officials and officers who worked the stadium.

Dodger spokesman Josh Rawitch acknowledged Friday that the organization cut uniformed officers from the security team, but declined to discuss the reason. He said the Dodgers continued to hire some uniformed officers for a few games against rival teams, but he would not say how many.

The club's decision to move away from uniformed officers has come under new scrutiny after the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan by two Dodger supporters at a game earlier this month. As police continue to search for the assailants, who witnesses described as having been intoxicated, Dodger owner Frank McCourt last week agreed to once again employ off-duty officers in uniforms inside the stadium.

It's unclear whether the departure of the officers affected the overall crime rate at Dodger Stadium.

LAPD statistics show a decline in overall serious crime at Dodger Stadium in the last few years. But the numbers do not reflect less serious crimes such as public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The LAPD on Friday did not have a breakdown of arrests at the stadium during this period.

Even if those arrest statistics showed a decline, they wouldn't necessarily indicate that the stadium was safer. Conversely, an increase in arrests could indicate more crime or simply more vigorous patrolling - or both.

But several LAPD officers and senior police officials said the departure of uniformed officers significantly changed the atmosphere in Chavez Ravine by undercutting the ability of the remaining security staff to deal with confrontational fans.

The situation was compounded by what police have said is the increasing presence of gang members at Dodger games over the last several years.

"I lasted two games," said one LAPD officer, who stayed on briefly at the stadium after uniforms were eliminated. "It was crazy. These gangbangers would be drunk, defiant, cursing us out when we tried to kick them out. They had no idea we were cops. We had no leverage on them. There is no authority in a polo shirt."

Police Chief Charlie Beck has made it clear in recent days that he believes there should be a uniformed presence.

"If you have belligerent fans inside, having uniformed officers inside is the best deterrent," Beck said. "There's nothing like an officer in uniform to control behavior."

Fans echoed Beck's statement during the Dodgers' home game Thursday night in which uniformed officers were a strong presence.

"The police should be here," said Sharon Hernandez, wearing her Dodgers cap and jacket. "It makes you feel safer."

The uniformed police did not come cheaply. They were paid $50 an hour and worked about six hours on a game day. The Dodgers declined to discuss how much was spent on hiring off-duty officers. But with 81 home games each season and roughly 50 uniformed officers staffing most games, the total cost could easily exceed $1 million. For games against rivals, such as the Giants, more uniformed officers were hired, officers said.

The Dodgers first brought uniformed LAPD officers into the stadium early in May 2005 after a particularly ugly incident in which two teenagers jumped onto the field during the game and fans hurled cups, bottles and other debris onto the field as they were being arrested. The LAPD generally forbids officers to wear their uniforms while off duty, but at the team's request, the Los Angeles Police Commission agreed to add the facility to the list of a dozen or so sports and entertainment venues where it is permitted.

The team hired a new head of security. Shahram Ariane had previously held the same post at Staples Center, where he relied on off-duty, uniformed officers. Ariane went to work building a stable of LAPD officers for the Dodgers. He handpicked each one, favoring officers who were assigned to the department's SWAT team or other specialized units within the insular Metropolitan Division.

They said Ariane stationed officers at stadium entrances as ticketholders filed in to look for intoxicated fans or those trying to sneak in alcohol. During games, several officers said, they were a "last resort" when it came to resolving problems in the stands. If a fan was acting out, a security guard would confront the person. If the guards were unable to get the person to behave or extract the individual from the seat, they were expected to radio to officers for help.

"We could give them the choice of walking out or leaving in handcuffs and spending a few nights in jail," one of the officers recalled. "That first impression you made with a knucklehead was half the battle."

The officers interviewed for this article requested that their names not be used because they feared doing so would lead to discipline, and several were also applying to once again work in uniform at games.

The team typically requires employees to sign confidentiality agreements.

Officers said Ariane told them he wanted a "hands-off" policy when it came to fans.

Instead, security officers were responsible for using force if it was necessary.

Officers said they were not discouraged from arresting people who committed crimes, but that Ariane's primary goal simply was to remove problem fans from the stadium.

Ariane, several officers recounted, would frequently say he "wanted the place to be like Disneyland."

Shortly after the 2008 season, the Dodgers announced the arrival of a new vice president for security, Ray Maytorena, a former U.S. Secret Service agent. Ariane departed soon after.

It is not known if Maytorena or someone else in the Dodger organization made the decision to move away from using uniformed officers.

It is also unclear why the decision was made. Several of the officers who were interviewed said they believed it was a cost-saving measure because Maytorena offered to let officers work in polo shirts for $30 an hour. Many refused to do so.

What is known is that the team has come full circle. The Dodgers cut ties with Maytorena last year.

Ariane was brought back as a consultant at the start of this season. And uniformed officers are once again patrolling the stadium.

Ariane declined to comment and Maytorena did not respond to a request for an interview.