Philly TSA agent plays cruel drug baggie joke on traveler

In what appears to be a daily report of the "dumbest TSA agent", a story from Philadelphia airport will really have you fuming.

22 year old Rebecca Soloman was heading back to Detroit on January 5th, when she passed through the airport checkpoint. As her bag came out of the X-ray machine, a TSA agent motioned for her to come towards him. As she approached, he held up a small plastic bag containing white powder, and asked "where did you get it"?

Rebecca describes the next 20 seconds as the longest in her life. As she went through all the various terror scenarios in her mind, she held back her tears. It was then, that the TSA agent smiled and told her that he was "just kidding".

Just kidding - a TSA agent makes you think he found drugs or explosives in your bag, and he was just kidding. Before you get as mad as I did reading the story, you'll be happy to know that this guy is no longer employed by the TSA, though the agency would not say whether he was fired, or quit on his own.

Look - I understand that every organization in the world is going to be staffed by a small percentage of incompetent fools. But I just don't get how so many of them ended up in charge of protecting our skies. From missing loaded guns to robbing us blind, the organization always manages to attract the worst of the worst.

A TSA spokesperson issued the following statement to Philly.com:

"The TSA views this employee's behavior to be highly inappropriate and unprofessional. We can assure travelers this employee has been disciplined by TSA management at Philadelphia International Airport, and he has expressed remorse for his actions."

Kudos to the agency for taking swift action against this employee. The quicker they get rid of people like this, the better.

Filed under: North America, United States, Airports