TSA rail, subway spot-checks raise privacy issues

searches aren't mandatory but you can't continue your trip if you don't allow it


Rick Vetter and his teen son got a pretty good look at the legal line between privacy and security last month, as they wrapped up a day trip to Charlotte, North Carolina.

After watching the NFL's Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers, they were looking forward to a three-hour train ride back home to Raleigh when they arrived at the train station.

Walking up a ramp toward the platform, they noticed what appeared to be a uniformed Transportation Security Administration officer holding a leashed police dog.

"He just loosened the leash on the dog, and the dog came over to check me out," Vetter said. Standing on the platform above Vetter were three other officers who appeared to be wearing bullet-proof vests.


http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/28/travel/tsa-vipr-passenger-train-searches/index.html?hpt=hp_c1