At what point does an airport search step over the line? TSA agents go thru woman's checks

[Liberal_in_LA]

Daniel Rubin: An infuriating search at Philadelphia International Airport

At what point does an airport search step over the line?

How about when they start going through your checks, and the police call your husband, suspicious you were clearing out the bank account?

That's the complaint leveled by Kathy Parker, a 43-year-old Elkton, Md., woman, who was flying out of Philadelphia International Airport on Aug. 8.

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A female Transportation Security Administration officer wanded her and patted her down, she says. Then she was walked over to where other TSA officers were searching her bags.

"Everything in my purse was out, including my wallet and my checkbook. I had two prescriptions in there. One was diet pills. This was embarrassing. A TSA officer said, 'Hey, I've always been curious about these. Do they work?'

"I was just so taken aback, I said, 'Yeah.' "

What happened next, she says, was more than embarrassing. It was infuriating.

That same screener started emptying her wallet. "He was taking out the receipts and looking at them," she said.

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In a side pocket she had tucked a deposit slip and seven checks made out to her and her husband, worth about $8,000.

Two Philadelphia police officers joined at least four TSA officers who had gathered around her. After conferring with the TSA screeners, one of the Philadelphia officers told her he was there because her checks were numbered sequentially, which she says they were not.

"It's an indication you've embezzled these checks," she says the police officer told her. He also told her she appeared nervous. She hadn't before that moment, she says.


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When she got home, her husband of 20 years, John Parker, a self-employed plastics broker, said the police had called and told him that they'd suspected "a divorce situation" and that Kathy Parker was trying to empty their bank account. He set them straight.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/daniel_rubin/20100818_Daniel_Rubin__An_infuriating_search_at_Philadelphia_International_Airport.html#ixzz0xH4WDBMT
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[NC_Nurse]

1. WTF? How is that stopping terror attacks?

[Recursion]

9. I think that's more likely looking for money laundering and drug sales

It doesn't surprise me that carrying $32K on a flight raises some eyebrows.

[PA Democrat]

10. Not $32,000. It was $8,000 total in checks to be deposited to her account.

[Recursion]

11. Oh, my bad

The article I had read (a different one) said "four checks for 8 thousand dollars". Though I guess that meant "totalling 8 thousand dollars".

[WinkyDink]

17. Is that why they contacted the husband about divorce?

[Recursion]

20. No, but it's why they were looking at money/checks in the first place

Once they saw big checks, they called in the cops. Cops are by nature nosey (they have to be) and that's what made them call her husband, since the checks were made out to both of them.

[woo me with science]

2. You can't make this stuff up.

I hate that reading the news makes me so angry.

[hlthe2b]

3. I wish ACLU would file suit on her behalf...

They obviously agree TSA crossed the line...

[Angry Dragon]

4. They thought she was going to buy Uzis

I am surprised they did not do a strip search

[Divernan]

5. Now that she's publicly complained, she'll be on the No-Fly List.

Read the rest of the story at the original link. It gets even worse. I used to fly at least once a month - but since I'm retired, (and my retirement savings got eaten by Bush's economic melt-down), it's just once a year to visit one of my kids. So, I'm flying over the Labor Day weekend and dreading the experience. And the last two times I flew there (Kansas City) the airline sent my luggage to other airports.

[bluestateguy]

6. TSA agents once ruffled through the papers in my briefcase

Including going through the pages on my yellowpad notebook. I'm still trying to figure out what I did or said that was "suspicious".

[gateley]

7. But they'd probably let a person carrying 6 box cutters and an weapon

dance on through. I can't believe how they just really badger innocent people! It's like they're not really serious about finding potential terrorists, but just about shoving their weight around and playing the role of enforcer. :eyes:

[Life Long Dem]

8. Quite the combination.

A banker and a broker...

[mackdaddy]

12. * Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

* Fourth Amendment – Protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. "


Maybe the TSA "Naked body scanners" come with an special paper shredder to shred the Bill of Rights.

Thank goodness for the TSA and FatherLand, er HomeLand Security. I feel so safe now......

[seabeyond]

18. +1. was going to bring up the strip search... yup. so right on. nt

[anarch]

22. exactly

it's disturbing that this issue isn't more obvious to more people

[david13]

13. Oh, those could have been explosive checks, or used to stab a

pilot or flight attendant, if they had sharp edges.
We as good mericans should accept whatever crap these idiots come up and be happy about it. Because it makes us safe.
And they are heroes for making us safe.
911 911 911
And other bs
dc

[lib2DaBone]

14. The TSA Goon Squad.. a lasting legacy from G.W. Bush...

A scourge that will haunt America forever...

[Dawson Leery]

15. And people around here want to unionize these jackals?

:wtf:
The TSA should be dis-banned!

[TheKentuckian]

19. Of course it should be disbanded but if its there it should be union

[WinkyDink]

16. I was infuriated with the query re: pills! NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS, G-D IT!!

[slackmaster]

21. I think it would be cause for concern if she had a receipt for a pound of nitroglycerin

Or something.

In all seriousness, TSA security went too far when they banned small pocket knives. It's just gotten worse and worse, which is IMO an inevitable unintended consequence of going down that road.

[mike r]

23. Future Headline: Man arrested had fertilizer receipt

from Home Depot.

"5,000 Sq. Ft. UltraTurf Fertilizer? ULTRA fertilizer?? 5,000 ft! What do you need that much fertilizer for?"

[LostinVA]

24. The TSA agents in Philly also SUCK

They may be even ruder and stupider than the ones in Seattle, who are maninly just very rude.

[suffragette]

25. Also shows how ridiculous the new "behavior detection"

process is.


TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said the reason Parker was selected for in-depth screening was that her actions at the airport had aroused the suspicion of a behavior detection officer, and that she continued to act "as if she feared discovery."


There are so many reasons a person could be nervous or tense before flying, ranging from personal/work issues to fear of flying itself.

Yet now, any of these could trigger questioning and a more intensive search. That is then compounded in the next step, more TSA and intensive grilling.


But why call police? Davis said, "Because her behavior escalated."

When Parker first told me her story, she didn't know the initial TSA officer was a behavior specialist. She told me he peppered her with questions about her trip as she knelt to consolidate three bags into two, and suddenly realized that her shirt was revealing too much for her comfort. When the man then volunteered to examine her belongings, she felt "it was just strange."

"When they decided to search me, there was nothing wrong with my behavior," she said. "I was trying to keep a positive demeanor about everything. My behavior didn't escalate. I did ask questions."


By that last stage, she had 4 TSA and 2 police officers surrounding, delaying, and intimidating her. Most people would rightfully feel out of sorts in that situation, if for no other reason than possibly missing the flight and having to stay in that atmosphere even longer.

Yet the very behavior TSA itself is provoking is used to select, judge and hold the person. And from there, it looks to me like they were trying to find something, anything to pin on here to validate their mistreatment of her in the first place. Further, from her account, she stayed remarkably calm in that situation.

I hope she connects with the ACLU and pursues a case.

[RainDog]

26. WTF? the TSA is allowed to make judgments on potential domestic disputes?

unbelievable.

and incredibly sexist.

[PfcHammer]

27. Say wut? TSA acting like fucking Divorce Court.

:wtf: