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From The Post-Chronicle and Liberty Pulse:
Original News
Published: Jun 23, 2011
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Outrageous TSA Stories: What Airport Scanners Can See
by Raj Deep
What Airport Scanners Can See - You've heard the stories - from retired special education teacher Tom Sawyer's urine accident to Cathy Bossi's prosthetic breast removal, it's clear that the TSA is not appropriately implementing their new security measures in accordance with their own regulations - and the American people are not taking the new checkpoint pat downs and body images lightly.
Backlash against the TSA's new security measures is growing at an alarming rate. Stories like that of Tom Sawyer, a retired special education teacher who was left covered in his own urine at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport this month after TSA agents forced him to undergo an aggressive pat-down, are becoming more like common conversation than they are atypical complaints. Tom Sawyer recently revealed in public interviews that he was reduced to tears when TSA agents forcefully patted him down without listening to him. Tom, a bladder cancer survivor, says he tried numerous times to inform the TSA that he wears a urostomy bag, which collects his urine from an opening in his abdomen.
"I have to wear special clothes and in order to mount the bag I have to seal a wafer to my stomach and then attach the bag. If the seal is broken, urine can leak all over my body and clothes," says Sawyer, who was on his way to a wedding in Orlando, Fl., on November 7th when his urostomy bag set off the security scanner.
"Evidently the scanner picked up on my urostomy bag, because I was chosen for a pat-down procedure," explains Tom. He asked the officers if he could be screened in private due to his medical condition. "One officer looked at another, rolled his eyes and said that they really didn't have any place to take me," said Sawyer. "After I said again that I'd like privacy, they took me to an office."
Tom claims the agents were quick to disregard his every word during the pat-down. "Every time I tried to tell them about my medical condition, they said they didn't need to know about that."
"One agent watched as the other used his flat hand to go slowly down my chest. I tried to warn him that he would hit the bag and break the seal on my bag, but he ignored me. Sure enough, the seal was broken and urine started dribbling down my shirt and my leg and into my pants."
"I was absolutely humiliated, I couldn't even speak," the 61-year-old said of the experience.
The agents finished the pat-down and, unsurprisingly, sent Sawyer through the checkpoint. "He told me I could go. They never apologized. They never offered to help. They acted like they hadn't seen what happened. But I know they saw it because I had a wet mark."
Sawyer intends to file a formal complaint with the TSA.
There is also the story of Cathy Bossi, who was recently - and unjustly - forced to remove her prosthetic breast for TSA agents to examine. The flight attendant of 28 years lost her breast to cancer and wears prosthesis in its place.
The South Charlotte woman, who has worked as a flight attendant for U.S. Airways for the last 28 years, was headed in to work one August day when she was asked to undergo the TSA's new pat-downs, which many passengers have compared to that of a "sexual assault." Bossi was forced to walk through the TSA's new airport body scanners when she set off the alarm. Moments later, two female TSA agents accompanied her to a private room, where they began what Bossi called an "aggressive" pat down.
The most recent controversial pat-down are the images of a three-year-old and video of a 6-year-old being frisked at an airport security check-in.
Just as the 3-year-old little boy was thoroughly investigated, so was his character book bag and belongings, an incident Congressman Holt had taken direct issue with in a letter written to the TSA. Holt also points out the potential health risks involved with the powerful x-ray machines the TSA is using to produce revealing images of citizens - images that are supposed to be immediately disposed of. Additionally, Holt points out that Israel, a small nation in incredible danger and under constant threat, does not subject their citizens to such invasive security practices and that perhaps the U.S. could learn a thing or two from their screening process.
Holt's letter to the TSA can be read here.
Meanwhile, the TSA stands by their new security measures. In a statement on their website, TSA.Gov, the agency says, "We welcome feedback and comments on the screening procedures from the traveling public, and we will work to make them as minimally invasive as possible while still providing the security that the American people want and deserve. We are constantly evaluating and adapting our security measures, and as we have said from the beginning, we are seeking to strike the right balance between privacy and security."
"In all such security programs, especially those that are applied nation-wide, there is a continual process of refinement and adjustment to ensure that best practices are applied and that feedback and comment from the traveling public is taken into account. This has always been viewed as an evolving program that will be adapted as conditions warrant, and we greatly appreciate the cooperation and understanding of the American people."
"We cannot forget that less than one year ago a suicide bomber with explosives in his underwear tried to bring down a plane over Detroit. The terrorists allegedly behind the thwarted cargo attempt last month are out there bragging about how they will strike again. We all wish we lived in a world where security procedures at airports weren't necessary but that just isn't the case."
Below are a few key points from the TSA's own website.
Know that at no time should the Security Officer remove your child from his/her mobility aid (wheelchair or scooter). You are responsible for removing your child from his/her equipment at your discretion to accomplish screening.
It is not necessary to remove hearing aids or the exterior component of a cochlear implant at security checkpoints.
Let the Security Officer know if your shoes cannot be removed because of your disability so that alternative security procedures can be applied to your shoes.
You should not be required to transfer from your wheelchair to another chair or be lifted out of your chair during the inspection process.
Security Officers should not be asking you to remove your orthopedic shoes, appliances, or medical device (insulin pump, feeding tube, ostomy or urine bag, or exterior component of cochlear implant) at any time during the screening process.
Security Officers will not ask nor require you to remove your prosthetic device, cast, or support brace.
Persons with medical conditions or special situations should be aware that there's often no method for a Security Officer to recognize your particular medical condition or special situation. You can, but are not required, to inform the Security Officer if you have a medical condition or special situation, which requires extra care or sensitivity during the screening process.
If you are required to undergo additional screening, you can notify the Security Officer that you are in pain due to a recent surgery or medical procedure (e.g. area where you just had surgery, have staples, sutures, reconstruction area, or newly implanted device) that will require greater care.
Notify the Security Officer when you have a special situation requiring sensitivity when a pat-down inspection is necessary. You may request a private area for this screening.
Security Officers should be sensitive to your condition by avoiding accidentally bumping or hitting the handwand against your body where a sensitive area is located. They should also use light pressure and contact when inspecting a sensitive area or painful area.
You can advise the Security Officer when you have a special situation such as accompanying loved one's remains, accompanying a terminally ill parent/family member, en route to a medical facility for an operation, medical procedure, or treatment. Security Officers have been trained to offer their support and assist you during these difficult times.
To contact the TSA or file a complaint, go to their website.
Original News
Published: Jun 23, 2011
Share
Outrageous TSA Stories: What Airport Scanners Can See
by Raj Deep
What Airport Scanners Can See - You've heard the stories - from retired special education teacher Tom Sawyer's urine accident to Cathy Bossi's prosthetic breast removal, it's clear that the TSA is not appropriately implementing their new security measures in accordance with their own regulations - and the American people are not taking the new checkpoint pat downs and body images lightly.
Backlash against the TSA's new security measures is growing at an alarming rate. Stories like that of Tom Sawyer, a retired special education teacher who was left covered in his own urine at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport this month after TSA agents forced him to undergo an aggressive pat-down, are becoming more like common conversation than they are atypical complaints. Tom Sawyer recently revealed in public interviews that he was reduced to tears when TSA agents forcefully patted him down without listening to him. Tom, a bladder cancer survivor, says he tried numerous times to inform the TSA that he wears a urostomy bag, which collects his urine from an opening in his abdomen.
"I have to wear special clothes and in order to mount the bag I have to seal a wafer to my stomach and then attach the bag. If the seal is broken, urine can leak all over my body and clothes," says Sawyer, who was on his way to a wedding in Orlando, Fl., on November 7th when his urostomy bag set off the security scanner.
"Evidently the scanner picked up on my urostomy bag, because I was chosen for a pat-down procedure," explains Tom. He asked the officers if he could be screened in private due to his medical condition. "One officer looked at another, rolled his eyes and said that they really didn't have any place to take me," said Sawyer. "After I said again that I'd like privacy, they took me to an office."
Tom claims the agents were quick to disregard his every word during the pat-down. "Every time I tried to tell them about my medical condition, they said they didn't need to know about that."
"One agent watched as the other used his flat hand to go slowly down my chest. I tried to warn him that he would hit the bag and break the seal on my bag, but he ignored me. Sure enough, the seal was broken and urine started dribbling down my shirt and my leg and into my pants."
"I was absolutely humiliated, I couldn't even speak," the 61-year-old said of the experience.
The agents finished the pat-down and, unsurprisingly, sent Sawyer through the checkpoint. "He told me I could go. They never apologized. They never offered to help. They acted like they hadn't seen what happened. But I know they saw it because I had a wet mark."
Sawyer intends to file a formal complaint with the TSA.
There is also the story of Cathy Bossi, who was recently - and unjustly - forced to remove her prosthetic breast for TSA agents to examine. The flight attendant of 28 years lost her breast to cancer and wears prosthesis in its place.
The South Charlotte woman, who has worked as a flight attendant for U.S. Airways for the last 28 years, was headed in to work one August day when she was asked to undergo the TSA's new pat-downs, which many passengers have compared to that of a "sexual assault." Bossi was forced to walk through the TSA's new airport body scanners when she set off the alarm. Moments later, two female TSA agents accompanied her to a private room, where they began what Bossi called an "aggressive" pat down.
The most recent controversial pat-down are the images of a three-year-old and video of a 6-year-old being frisked at an airport security check-in.
Just as the 3-year-old little boy was thoroughly investigated, so was his character book bag and belongings, an incident Congressman Holt had taken direct issue with in a letter written to the TSA. Holt also points out the potential health risks involved with the powerful x-ray machines the TSA is using to produce revealing images of citizens - images that are supposed to be immediately disposed of. Additionally, Holt points out that Israel, a small nation in incredible danger and under constant threat, does not subject their citizens to such invasive security practices and that perhaps the U.S. could learn a thing or two from their screening process.
Holt's letter to the TSA can be read here.
Meanwhile, the TSA stands by their new security measures. In a statement on their website, TSA.Gov, the agency says, "We welcome feedback and comments on the screening procedures from the traveling public, and we will work to make them as minimally invasive as possible while still providing the security that the American people want and deserve. We are constantly evaluating and adapting our security measures, and as we have said from the beginning, we are seeking to strike the right balance between privacy and security."
"In all such security programs, especially those that are applied nation-wide, there is a continual process of refinement and adjustment to ensure that best practices are applied and that feedback and comment from the traveling public is taken into account. This has always been viewed as an evolving program that will be adapted as conditions warrant, and we greatly appreciate the cooperation and understanding of the American people."
"We cannot forget that less than one year ago a suicide bomber with explosives in his underwear tried to bring down a plane over Detroit. The terrorists allegedly behind the thwarted cargo attempt last month are out there bragging about how they will strike again. We all wish we lived in a world where security procedures at airports weren't necessary but that just isn't the case."
Below are a few key points from the TSA's own website.
Know that at no time should the Security Officer remove your child from his/her mobility aid (wheelchair or scooter). You are responsible for removing your child from his/her equipment at your discretion to accomplish screening.
It is not necessary to remove hearing aids or the exterior component of a cochlear implant at security checkpoints.
Let the Security Officer know if your shoes cannot be removed because of your disability so that alternative security procedures can be applied to your shoes.
You should not be required to transfer from your wheelchair to another chair or be lifted out of your chair during the inspection process.
Security Officers should not be asking you to remove your orthopedic shoes, appliances, or medical device (insulin pump, feeding tube, ostomy or urine bag, or exterior component of cochlear implant) at any time during the screening process.
Security Officers will not ask nor require you to remove your prosthetic device, cast, or support brace.
Persons with medical conditions or special situations should be aware that there's often no method for a Security Officer to recognize your particular medical condition or special situation. You can, but are not required, to inform the Security Officer if you have a medical condition or special situation, which requires extra care or sensitivity during the screening process.
If you are required to undergo additional screening, you can notify the Security Officer that you are in pain due to a recent surgery or medical procedure (e.g. area where you just had surgery, have staples, sutures, reconstruction area, or newly implanted device) that will require greater care.
Notify the Security Officer when you have a special situation requiring sensitivity when a pat-down inspection is necessary. You may request a private area for this screening.
Security Officers should be sensitive to your condition by avoiding accidentally bumping or hitting the handwand against your body where a sensitive area is located. They should also use light pressure and contact when inspecting a sensitive area or painful area.
You can advise the Security Officer when you have a special situation such as accompanying loved one's remains, accompanying a terminally ill parent/family member, en route to a medical facility for an operation, medical procedure, or treatment. Security Officers have been trained to offer their support and assist you during these difficult times.
To contact the TSA or file a complaint, go to their website.
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