After all the issues the other year with the TSA, it’s amazing that these kinds of incidents continue to happen
(AP) — The grandmother of a 4-year-old girl who became hysterical during a security screening at a Kansas airport said Wednesday that the child was forced to undergo a pat-down after hugging her, with security agents yelling and calling the crying girl an uncooperative suspect.
The incident has been garnering increasing media and online attention since the child’s mother, Michelle Brademeyer of Montana, detailed the ordeal in a public Facebook post last week. The Transportation Security Administration is defending its agents, despite new procedures aimed at reducing pat-downs of children.
The child’s grandmother, Lori Croft, told The Associated Press that Brademeyer and her daughter, Isabella, initially passed through security at the Wichita airport without incident. The girl then ran over to briefly hug Croft, who was awaiting a pat-down after tripping the alarm, and that’s when TSA agents insisted the girl undergo a physical pat-down.
The child was screaming and terrified, having no clue what was occurring. Yet, the TSA continued on, and was abusive towards the parents and grandmother, telling them that the TSA would shut down the airport unless they grabbed the child. The parents were told they couldn’t comfort the child initially, up to the point that this hysterical child was allowed to be patted down while in the arms of her mother.
Here’s where the TSA goes further off the rails
The TSA released a statement Tuesday saying it explained to the family why additional security procedures were necessary and that agents didn’t suspect or suggest the child was carrying a firearm.
“TSA has reviewed the incident and determined that our officers followed proper screening procedures in conducting a modified pat-down on the child,” the agency said.
So, the agents didn’t suspect the child was carrying a firearm? So, why completely freak out a 4 year old? The TSA’s Blogger Bob explains
TSA has long had a security procedure where if somebody has contact with a person who is undergoing additional screening, they must also undergo additional screening. Why you might ask? You’ve probably heard the old saying that the hand can be faster than eye? Well… that’s the reasoning behind this procedure. There’s always the chance that a prohibited item could be traded off during contact. I’m sure you’ve watched the scene play out in more than one movie where two people collide or shake hands and an item is traded off? Same thing…
So, what did they think a 4 year old was involved in? Sounds more like the TSA acting like tin-pot dictators.
From the comments
- You continuously confuse the statement “our policy mandates it” with the statement that “it was necessary.” Those of us who have more than two working brain cells can see that this was not necessary in any sense.
- Perhaps making the video available to corroborate your story is in order.
- Conspicuously absent in your explanation, Bob, is how your officers treated the child, screaming at her and refusing to allow her mother to comfort her. Is that part of your standard procedure? Because if it is, there’s absolutely no way I will ever fly with my preschool aged daughter.
Lest you think this is the only TSA issue of late, we also have the TSA causing a family to miss a flight because the TSA singled out a 7 year old. Who has cerebral palsy. And crutches and walking braces. Who is developmentally challenged.
More: via The Classic Conservative, we get our first glimpse of this brazen terrorist wannabe
Don’t be fooled by that darling little princess outfit, she’s probably hiding several My Little Pony’s filled with Semtex in her dress and a garote in her headband.
If the child was a Muslim, then there should be a security concern. But it is apparent that the child was not a Muslim. Therefore, why? What is it for? Can anyone name a time that a non-Muslim took over a plane and killed innocents? I know of the highjackings in the 70’s, but that was much different than what we are talking about now. Airlines and passengers will not put up with a highjacker and they know it. So lets target those that create terror for terror sake and that is the religion of Islam.
On a different note, O has deemed the war on terror over. So we don’t need the TSA.
Most of the hijackings in the 70’s tended to be a mixture of commies and Muslims. But, we aren’t allowed to profile the little darlings. It’s like telling police in LA that they aren’t allowed to profile blacks wearing red bandanas and 5 pointed stars with lots of tattoos in Bloods areas. Or police profile Latinos wearing gold and black with crown tattoos as Latin Kings. Etc.
A majority of those hijackings back then were people trying to flee 3rd world backwater dung-heap nations, or wacko commie/marxists trying to get there (how many tried to fly to cuba?). Then there were the muslims hijacking and blowing up planes because… that’s what they did then.
They blew up planes. Nowadays, they blow up buildings and buses.
Now that the war on terror is over, disband the TSA, repeal the Patriot Act that Chancellor Obama is highly in favor of and end the military maneuvers in Afghanistan.
I would actually keep Guantanemo open. Should keep it open as a federal prison. However, I would remove the guards. Let them feel Cuban rule. Make them really feel punished.
BTW, wasn’t that little dear girl with palsy stopped twice? Wasn’t it in the same airport to boot?
Well, you know that little white girls from the heartland of the country are probably part of the massive amount of extreme right wing white Christian terrorists we hear about all the time.
The only way to win is not to play. Since I don’t have to fly, I quit doing it. Period.