TSA Orders 95 yr old to remove adult diaper

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

...duing a 45 minute search.

Who wants to excuse the government or the government thugs that were involved in this? This is an assault. It's a molestation. This isn't 'security'.

Laws must be passed against this, and TSA agents MUST be held personally responsible for criminal acts like this.

www.newsherald.com/news/mother-94767-search-adult.html

A woman has filed a complaint with federal authorities over how her elderly mother was treated at Northwest Florida Regional Airport last weekend.

Jean Weber of Destin filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security after her 95-year-old mother was detained and extensively searched last Saturday while trying to board a plane to fly to Michigan to be with family members during the final stages of her battle with leukemia.

Her mother, who was in a wheelchair, was asked to remove an adult diaper in order to complete a pat-down search.

“It’s something I couldn’t imagine happening on American soil,” Weber said Friday. “Here is my mother, 95 years old, 105 pounds, barely able to stand, and then this.”

Sari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami, said she could not comment on specific cases to protect the privacy of those involved.

“The TSA works with passengers to resolve any security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner,” she said.

Weber’s mother entered the airport’s security checkpoint in a wheelchair because she was not stable enough to walk through, Weber said.

Wheelchairs trigger certain protocols, including pat-downs and possible swabbing for explosives, Koshetz said.

“During any part of the process, if there is an alarm, then we have to resolve that alarm,” she said.

Weber said she did not know whether her mother had triggered an alarm during the 45 minutes they were detained.

She said her mother was first pulled aside into a glass-partitioned area and patted down. Then she was taken to another room to protect her privacy during a more extensive search, Weber said.

[chiver78]

I just finished reading this on msnbc. I absolutely agree with you, this is right up there with the agents that touch the kids too.

[thyme4change]

Please God, if you exist, please let me die before I'm 95 years old, in a diaper and in a wheelchair, so elderly and weak that I can't even stand up, and my kids still think it is a good idea to put me on a plane and fly me around the country. Amen.

[Driftr]

Our TX Speaker (Joe Straus) has flat out said that HB41 which Dewhurst got pulled from normal session and then begged Perry to put into special session where he sat on it until just last week will not come up for a vote as worded. This is the same 'person' who said that ""The will of the House should guide this House. And the will of the House does not begin in the Speaker’s office" when he was campaigning to stay Speaker. All I can say at this point is that Texas politics make me sick and we'll be driving until further notice. Who knows, maybe in the next couple years a state will be found with the 'nads to actually do something rather than talk about it. I can say for certain that after this latest charade Perry will never receive a vote of mine.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

If I was the local sherriff, I would have ordered these agents arrested for assualt. We've got to stand up.

[swamp]

Jun 27, 2011 11:28:46 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Please God, if you exist, please let me die before I'm 95 years old, in a diaper and in a wheelchair, so elderly and weak that I can't even stand up, and my kids still think it is a good idea to put me on a plane and fly me around the country. Amen.

I've got "the formula." My sister is a doc, my husband is a pharmacist, my good friend is a nurse practitioner. One of them will be around to kill me "with an accidental overdose" when I ask.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jun 27, 2011 11:30:28 GMT -5 Driftr said:

Our TX Speaker (Joe Straus) has flat out said that HB41 which Dewhurst got pulled from normal session and then begged Perry to put into special session where he sat on it until just last week will not come up for a vote as worded. This is the same 'person' who said that ""The will of the House should guide this House. And the will of the House does not begin in the Speaker’s office" when he was campaigning to stay Speaker. All I can say at this point is that Texas politics make me sick and we'll be driving until further notice. Who knows, maybe in the next couple years a state will be found with the 'nads to actually do something rather than talk about it. I can say for certain that after this latest charade Perry will never receive a vote of mine.

We don't technically need 'special laws'. We need local law enforcement to start taking action when the TSA agents act outside of existing law. No warrant, no probable cause-- no search. Period.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jun 27, 2011 11:32:15 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jun 27, 2011 11:28:46 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Please God, if you exist, please let me die before I'm 95 years old, in a diaper and in a wheelchair, so elderly and weak that I can't even stand up, and my kids still think it is a good idea to put me on a plane and fly me around the country. Amen.

I've got "the formula." My sister is a doc, my husband is a pharmacist, my good friend is a nurse practitioner. One of them will be around to kill me "with an accidental overdose" when I ask.

Maybe she was headed to Oregon, or Zurich. We don't really know.

[Deleted]

Jun 27, 2011 11:30:28 GMT -5 Driftr said:

Our TX Speaker (Joe Straus) has flat out said that HB41 which Dewhurst got pulled from normal session and then begged Perry to put into special session where he sat on it until just last week will not come up for a vote as worded. This is the same 'person' who said that ""The will of the House should guide this House. And the will of the House does not begin in the Speaker’s office" when he was campaigning to stay Speaker. All I can say at this point is that Texas politics make me sick and we'll be driving until further notice. Who knows, maybe in the next couple years a state will be found with the 'nads to actually do something rather than talk about it. I can say for certain that after this latest charade Perry will never receive a vote of mine.

What does the OP have to do with TX? I know TX is discussing the issue with not allowing TSA agents to pat down children, but I don't get the connection to this incident?

Also, I must ask.....why do we have a Homeland Security Department? I'm well aware that this was created around the same time as the BS 'Patriot Act', but doesn't the FBI generally handle domestic (aka HOMELAND) threats?

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

Ever seen this one? The TSA seriuosly needs to be reigned in.

[swamp]

Jun 27, 2011 11:34:50 GMT -5 AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP said:

Jun 27, 2011 11:32:15 GMT -5 swamp said:

I've got "the formula." My sister is a doc, my husband is a pharmacist, my good friend is a nurse practitioner. One of them will be around to kill me "with an accidental overdose" when I ask.

Maybe she was headed to Oregon, or Zurich. We don't really know.

No need to go to Oregon or Zurich for a bottle of Tylenol and some windshield washer fluid.

[thyme4change]

Is that Hef's runaway bride?

[swamp]

Jun 27, 2011 11:40:22 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Is that Hef's runaway bride?

the boobs aren't nearly big enough.

[Driftr]

Jun 27, 2011 11:35:12 GMT -5 @financialtexan said:

Jun 27, 2011 11:30:28 GMT -5 Driftr said:

Our TX Speaker (Joe Straus) has flat out said that HB41 which Dewhurst got pulled from normal session and then begged Perry to put into special session where he sat on it until just last week will not come up for a vote as worded. This is the same 'person' who said that ""The will of the House should guide this House. And the will of the House does not begin in the Speaker’s office" when he was campaigning to stay Speaker. All I can say at this point is that Texas politics make me sick and we'll be driving until further notice. Who knows, maybe in the next couple years a state will be found with the 'nads to actually do something rather than talk about it. I can say for certain that after this latest charade Perry will never receive a vote of mine.

What does the OP have to do with TX? I know TX is discussing the issue with not allowing TSA agents to pat down children, but I don't get the connection to this incident?

Also, I must ask.....why do we have a Homeland Security Department? I'm well aware that this was created around the same time as the BS 'Patriot Act', but doesn't the FBI generally handle domestic (aka HOMELAND) threats?

What you think you know about what is being discussed in TX is not correct.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

That expression on her face... "This can't be happening, this is just a bad dream...."

[Deleted]

Jun 27, 2011 11:44:04 GMT -5 Driftr said:

Jun 27, 2011 11:35:12 GMT -5 @financialtexan said:

What does the OP have to do with TX? I know TX is discussing the issue with not allowing TSA agents to pat down children, but I don't get the connection to this incident?

Also, I must ask.....why do we have a Homeland Security Department? I'm well aware that this was created around the same time as the BS 'Patriot Act', but doesn't the FBI generally handle domestic (aka HOMELAND) threats?

What you think you know about what is being discussed in TX is not correct.

Enlighten me then. Don't be vague. I still don't see what TX bills that may OR may not be up for vote have to do with some lady at a FL airport....other than the TSA.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Please God, if you exist, please let me die before I'm 95 years old, in a diaper and in a wheelchair, so elderly and weak that I can't even stand up, and my kids still think it is a good idea to put me on a plane and fly me around the country. Amen.

[Driftr]

Jun 27, 2011 11:47:10 GMT -5 @financialtexan said:

Jun 27, 2011 11:44:04 GMT -5 Driftr said:

What you think you know about what is being discussed in TX is not correct.

Enlighten me then. Don't be vague. I still don't see what TX bills that may OR may not be up for vote have to do with some lady at a FL airport....other than the TSA.

The connection is that here in TX we had a chance to reign in the TSA and their abuses a bit and we chose to pass on that opportunity because we don't have the backbone.

Here's the bill in case you wish to read it.
www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/821/billtext/pdf/HB00041I.pdf#navpanes=0

[safeharbor37]

In the case of the video in Reply #9, I did not see, "TSA Strips Woman in Public - NAZI style Dehumanization tactic." What I saw was a publicity hungry woman with her lap dog [the canine one] who no doubt arrived inappropriately clothed and was denied entrance, so was being appropriately ignored by TSA.
In the case of the OP; TSA's explanation was entirely appropriate. Your comfort comes after the safety of other passengers.

[maui1]

the tsa has got to go.

[floridayankee]

Jun 27, 2011 11:20:09 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

....this is right up there with the agents that touch the kids too.

As far as kids go, you never know.....

KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents tricked an 8-year-old girl in a remote area of central Afghanistan into carrying a bomb wrapped in a cloth and then detonated the bomb remotely when she was close to a police vehicle, the Afghan authorities said Sunday.

Afghan girl tricked into carrying bomb is killed in explosion

FORWARD OPERATING BASE THUNDER, Afghanistan — The story of a 6-year-old Afghan boy who says he thwarted an effort by Taliban militants to trick him into being a suicide bomber provoked tears and anger at a meeting of tribal leaders.

The account from Juma Gul, a dirt-caked child who collects scrap metal for money, left American soldiers dumbfounded that a youngster could be sent on such a mission. Afghan troops crowded around the boy to call him a hero.

Taliban tricked me into wearing bomb, boy says

[Phoenix84]

I have to agree with safeharbor and Florida Yankee. There's a very good reason the TSA doesn't exempt kids or seniors.

As Floridayankee pointed out, terrorists can trick or intimidate kids into carrying bombs, especially if they know they won't be searched. It's unfortunate but this is the world we live in and the type of enemy we're dealing with. They aren't above using kids as weapons.

As for seniors, check out this article.

www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/11/04/canada.disguised.passenger/index.html?hpt=C2

A young asien man disguised himself as an old Caucasian man to board a flight. Again, these are the people we're dealing with these days. It's because of them that we have to put up with things like this. Your comfort is secondary to safety.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

It says she was going to meet family, why couldn't they fly out to meet her? She's 95 years old, in a wheelchair, diapers and in the last stage of her battle with cancer. Who the hell decided it was a great idea to put her on a plane in her condition?

[handyman2]

Well it is proof positive that stupidity is alive and well. What bugs me is that we are paying these people good money to be stupid.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

What I saw was a publicity hungry woman with her lab dog [the canine one] who no doubt arrived inappropriately clothed and was denied entrance, so was being appropriately ignored by TSA.

I had to rewatch that clip. I honestly thought the dog was her dress being held in her lap.

[floridayankee]

Jun 27, 2011 14:32:28 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

I have to agree with safeharbor and Florida Yankee. There's a very good reason the TSA doesn't exempt kids or seniors.

Don't get me wrong phenoix, I'm not agreeing with strip searching grannies and kids. I am able to see their reasoning behind it though.

IMHO, giving up your freedoms in the name of safety does more harm than good.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
~ Benjamin Franklin

[thyme4change]

In the case of the video in Reply #9, I did not see, "TSA Strips Woman in Public - NAZI style Dehumanization tactic." What I saw was a publicity hungry woman with her lab dog [the canine one] who no doubt arrived inappropriately clothed and was denied entrance, so was being appropriately ignored by TSA.

That is what I saw, too. I do not believe that TSA made that girl, who looks like a stripper/whore anyway, sit around in her matching, and catalog worthy, brand new bra and panties. She clearly did this as a stunt. The look on her face was more like someone who was searching an empty cavern for a brain cell - not someone who was embarrassed , or irate. If she were humiliated by the situation she probably would be looking down at her feet.

[handyman2]

Come now folks an old lady in a wheel chair and they have to search her because she may be a terriorist. Get real and some common sense. Last time I flew I had a can of hair spray in my carry on bag. I am late 70's and ex-military like I was a danger to a plane load of people. They had to confiscate the hair spray. For me it was no big deal but the mentality of the whole thing is absurd.
If I did want to blow up a plane I would walk up and show you the bomb and you would not even recognize it. same with a terriorist. So why are we searching granny in a wheel chair? Stupid While we are focused on the back door the terriorist will come in the front and we will smile at them and say welcome aboard.

[handyman2]

According to the news report she was not going on a visit. She was trying to get home.

[chiver78]

Jun 27, 2011 14:39:48 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

It says she was going to meet family, why couldn't they fly out to meet her? She's 95 years old, in a wheelchair, diapers and in the last stage of her battle with cancer. Who the hell decided it was a great idea to put her on a plane in her condition?

she was flying with her daughter, en route to meet up with other relatives to enter into assisted living, according to the news clip I saw about half an hour ago.

as far as ignoring kids and seniors, in the age of terrorists who seek out the 'weak' for suicide missions - there's a lot to be said for common sense and decency too. when the places I need to be are close enough, I drive myself at every opportunity, in my own vehicle. unfortunately, there are enough times and places that such travel isn't feasible, so I find myself at the mercy of so many others in traveling by plane (anyone that caught my rant a couple weeks ago, trying to get out of DC, can attest to passengers being at the mercy of others for sure!)

I am continually annoyed by the fact that the organization in charge of our safety in airline travel is a reactionary one. every incident of someone trying *something else* to disrupt operations or bring down a plane has resulted in new rules that make no logical sense. each instance like this one, where the TSA agents err on the side of what's written in an SOP vs using their own common sense, makes me shake my head and wonder how the world has lost its way. it's just sad, really.