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TSA pulls pants off of elderly man during search
It always never fails to amaze us what sort of crazy screening the TSA is doing on everyday passengers. You've probably seen the pictures of the security officer frisking the nun at Detroit's airport and were thinking what we were thinking -- what is a nun going to sneak into an airport? But the TSA can't discriminate against anyone based on their race, color, creed or age, so they have search even the most innocent looking people just like everyone else.
A 71 year old man was recently searched because he had a prosthetic knee, and the TSA officer went so far as to remove the man's pants in plain sight of the checkpoint to insure that he wasn't hiding anything. Check out the news coverage of the incident below -- we'd be angry too!
A 71 year old man was recently searched because he had a prosthetic knee, and the TSA officer went so far as to remove the man's pants in plain sight of the checkpoint to insure that he wasn't hiding anything. Check out the news coverage of the incident below -- we'd be angry too!
10 tips for smarter flying
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
joseph Jul 28th 2008 5:42AM
Because anyone can carry explosives under their clothes, everyone must be thoroughly checked. Prohibited items have been found in wheelchairs and baby strollers. People of all ages have tried to take knives and guns into airports. This happens everyday. The old man in the video is seeking money. TSA always offers a private screening for patdowns. This is a very onesided report. You also spelled "because" wrong in your report above.
NCarde Jul 28th 2008 2:52PM
Well I do believe the way they handled it was wrong. But I see why they do it. Just like many of you agree I rather be safe then sorry. And you dont hear about they things they find, or people they stop before they get on a plane you and I fly in. Want to know why the media only focuses on the bad things. Anything department any office, when something wrong happens they are all over it. But when they do there job, and keep us safe, they ever mention a word about it. I do agree there are some bad seeds in the deparment. But hey there are bad seeds every where. Hats off to those who do there job right and keep me and my family safe when we fly.
Tim Jul 28th 2008 5:22PM
they find nail clipper tweezers and small pocket knives.
ocasionally someone leaves a handgun in thier carry on. TSA would have you believe they are highly trained professionals but i work in the industry and know they are all just the same minimum wage security gaurds who were screening bags before 9/11 that got hired by TSA after 9/11
Littlebit0302 Jul 28th 2008 4:33PM
Actually they don't. My parents and I had to go through that same thing on our way back from Disneyland. My father has had multiple neck surgeries and ALWAYS sets off the alarms, not ONLY in airports, but also at department stores. They made my father strip down in the CLEAR plastic area to find his scare on HIS NECK. That is publicly humiliating and wrong. If TSA is informed by the person AND that person has a MEDICAL CARD THAT STATES THEY HAD SURGERY AND HAVE METAL IN THERE BODY, a wand over that area and the body should be good enough.
Frank Jul 28th 2008 4:51PM
You have NO IDEA what you are talking about. I have experienced similer situations traveling every week to the point where I do not look forward to a trip. The TSA does not use common sense; are rude sometimes and forget who pays for the search. They need to do their job with a little more dignity if they insist on patting down nuns and grandmothers.
gris truse Aug 21st 2008 6:01PM
oh, really.. at some airports it is like dealing with nazi troops.. I have 2 steel knees.. and I always warn the guards ahead of time and show card from my doc with his phone #. and photo of both knees.. and the guards jump into freak action as soon as the alarm goes off.. when I have a longer period of time to get to my destination.. I drive.. and at some places like courts and police stations I usually have fun and so do the police.. I get them all laughing.. and we do it to bug some people behind me waiting to get in..
Shelley N Jul 28th 2008 5:13PM
Why is a letter from a doctor not sufficient enough? This drives me crazy... I don't think this is good enough for them to "Have power" when they don't listen to the individuals or take them to private areas.
Ralph Jul 28th 2008 5:43PM
Josehp, are you really that stupid?
bcssf Jul 30th 2008 10:11PM
I travel for my job. I hit TSA approximately 6 plus times in a week. The system is a joke. It looks great don't get me wrong, but its all show. When it really counts like situations such as these, the TSA buffoons
blunder into oblivion. It is a complete power trip for most of the uneducated monkeys doing this job. I have passed through a security check in a MAJOR NY airport, to wake the TSA agent up, to ask if he wanted to screen me.... No joke... Granted I was in a pilots uniform, and it is a less used checkpoint, but it is still a checkpoint... I suggest firing at least HALF of these jokes, let them take their pretty new badges home with them, but fire HALF. Train the others to do the job, and when they fail a check, like passing a weapon through, FIRE THEM. Do not continue to just say OOPS we messed up. Terminate them. Hire a new monkey that can be trained.....
Curham Jul 28th 2008 6:32PM
Joseph, try using the sense your maker gave you and not the reactionary fear-based "intelligence" you've been taught by questionable self-serving sources. The gentleman is clearly upset, has every right to be and at the age of 71 could have become a tragic afterthought resulting from an irrational overzealous policy regarding many in this society whose treatment under that policy should be adjusted accordingly. As a result of a chemotherapy drug, my 45 year old husband has an implanted titanium Automatic Internal Cardiac Defibrillator (similar to that which keeps our Vice President alive). There are wires leading from this instrument located beneath the skin that serve to keep his heart beating. The proper term is Sudden Cardiac Death. He has a very official card with tons of medical information, an 800 number for verification & a microchip allowing the AICD to be tracked by Boston Scientific. Despite those precautions & thanks to an overzealous, paranoid & reactionary employee, my husband nearly literally dropped dead. The card states specifically that any security wand or electrical current placed near the device for more than 3 seconds triggers a substantial electrical shock through his heart requiring immediate intensive cardiac care or his heart will no longer regain functionality. I won't even go into the diagnostic equipment required that allows him to spend his final years outside of a hospital, which was denied. Imagine my surprise when I had to intercede to prevent a true tragedy from occurring. I had to personally rush him back to the hospital for re-stabilization & we were unable to fly or drive to visit his favorite aunt before she died, also missing what I'm told was a lovely old-fashioned Pennsylvania Irish wake. I've never been one for wordy stories or blog replies, but Joseph you may have spelled "because" correctly... but your inability to appreciate the gravity of the obvious in favor of an irrelevant detail is more flawed than the typo you take delight in referencing.
Anthony Jul 28th 2008 6:36PM
Listen Joseph, I fly often, and TSA agents are very often complete asses. I have personally witnessed many instances that fit very well with this so called "one-sided" story. I do not think an elderly couple attempting to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary are "trying to get money". This is a disgrace hiding under a veil of increased security. Maybe you work in an airport?
Deron Jul 28th 2008 6:56PM
It is my prayer that the next time you fly you are stripped naked in public since you are ok with this kind of nazi-like brutality.
mmemond Jul 28th 2008 8:22PM
I also have a prosthetic knee and never have I been offered private screening. They wand me in front of everyone going by and I have to sit and show the bottoms of my feet. And during all this screening, what is happening to the belongings I have passed through security? No one offers to retrieve your items and place them near you. If you're not travelling with someone, then your stuff will probably be gone and TSA cannot be held accountable. This is the reason I hate flying. TSA does discriminate against innocent people who now have to live with metal in their bodies.
Jim Jul 28th 2008 8:41PM
You are wrong. Obviously the 71 year old gentleman was NOT offered a private screening. If he was, he wouldn't have had to drop his pants in front of everyone. Did you read the article? Obviously not since they DID spell the word "Because" correctly.
Lizard Jul 28th 2008 10:19PM
Whaa Whaa!. If you don't like the possibility of being searched, then don't fly. It's simple. Who wants to be the next TSA agent responsible for letting a terrorist onboard with a prosthetic leg full of explosives, because the passenger had a "note" from the Doctor?
Searches are done semi-private because a closed door search would be a breeding ground for whiney liberal lawsuits, just like most Dr.s now need to have an assistant in the exam room as a witness.
Bucky Jul 28th 2008 11:08AM
Good post, but 'always never' doesn't fit.
S. Shuman Jul 28th 2008 2:16PM
He may avoid such stupidity by carrying medical documentation. But even this is no guarantee . Next time wear pants that are loose enough to be pulled up past the knee.
Theresa Jul 28th 2008 3:07PM
Airport security no longer allows medical documentation -- it is too easy to forge these kinds of documents. I have had both of my knees replaced and have metal rods in both legs. I can no longer walk distances and travel either in a wheelchair or scooter. Airport security waves a wand over each of my legs warning, wherever it beeps, they have to touch. They have always been respectful to me, running the back of their hand over my legs, and across my back where I have a metal implant in my hip. I've learned not to wear an under-wire bra, but when I do, again they use the back of the hand - I've never been felt up. Of course, there are always bad apples in the barrel, but if this slight imposition makes it safer for everyone to fly, I don't allow myself to get all upset about it. The nicer you are to them, the nicer they are to you.
Maureen Bergeron Jul 28th 2008 8:18PM
they could care less if you have medical documentation. just because you can pull your pant leg up doesn't work either. if you attempt to show they your documentation, it like you committed a crime.
CARLA Jul 28th 2008 2:17PM
THATS WHY I RIDE ON GREYHOUND BUS. I DONT TRUST TSA.