Elderly Woman Asked To Remove Adult Diaper During Tsa Search

[blazefan04]

Daily News

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,

[Guest little_jonny]

TSA needs to go through some new training... patting down babies, toddler's, now this crap?! TSA can drop dead and burn in hell... i know it's for safety but come on!

[AutieAB]

Their motto should read: TSA: Strip searching the elderly since 2002

Or one I got from Googling: You won't see London, you won't see France, until we see your underpants.

There must surely be a better way. Couldn't they have transferred her to a non-conductive chair and then used a metal detecting wand?

[BoTox]

It is not a requirement to have TSA do the security checks but most airports have defaulted and let TSA take control. Here is yet another wasteful expenditure of our hard earned tax dollars that could be better spent on something besides security theater.

[sarah_ab]

my quest is a woman who clearly needs diapers, is flying and is in an already soiled one before even getting on the plane and doesn't have any new ones to change into? what sort of daughter is that who would make their mother sit in a soiled diaper the entire ride.......

is there any sort of link to this story so we know it actually happened?

[DailyDi]

my quest is a woman who clearly needs diapers, is flying and is in an already soiled one before even getting on the plane and doesn't have any new ones to change into? what sort of daughter is that who would make their mother sit in a soiled diaper the entire ride.......

is there any sort of link to this story so we know it actually happened?

That jumped out at me too. Either a bad daughter, or an exaggerated story to make it more complaint-worthy

[blazefan04]

My link

There is the link for the story. I stumbled across it on another site.

[Guest]

Grandma got molested at the airport

[AutieAB]

It is not a requirement to have TSA do the security checks but most airports have defaulted and let TSA take control. Here is yet another wasteful expenditure of our hard earned tax dollars that could be better spent on something besides security theater.

I think there's a moratorium on airports moving from TSA screeners to private security now, isn't there? So airports that have private screeners can keep them but no more can switch.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-29/travel/tsa.private_1_tsa-government-screeners-screening-program?_s=PM:TRAVEL

[AutieAB]

That jumped out at me too. Either a bad daughter, or an exaggerated story to make it more complaint-worthy

I wonder whether the primary source of conflict was that the TSA asked the woman to remove the diaper or whether it was the agent's attitude while doing so, which as we all know, can be bloody awful.

If the TSA have decided to do an intimate search of a person - and I'm not saying that's appropriate in the case of a 90yo infirm person but bear with me here. Then if they subsequently discover that person is wearing a soiled diaper, it's not unreasonable to expect that they would ask it be changed for a clean one before the search took place in the interests of hygiene, particularly given that we don't know what was meant by "soiled".

I also agree that it's bizarre that the carer didn't have a spare diaper (or several). What if the flight had been seriously delayed or cancelled? I smell a rat on that 'fact' but I don't think the TSA handled the situation in the best way that they could have.

[babymaggie]

I also don't understand why the daughter didn't have spare diapers with her for her mother, that seems strange to me. However TSA is awful and I am not looking forward to flying in August to go visit my family. i am excited to see my family but my last experienc with TSA did not please me. I have a extremely, very expensive inhaled medication that I need to take for Pulmonary Artiel Hypertension. Because it is a liquid, it was those flags for TSA and they have to inspect it. It has to go through another x-ray which is no problem, but the pieces to the machine need to be kept sterile. I have to wash my hands before using this and what made me angry is how one TSA agant felt the need to put her dirty hands all over every piece even though I had a doctor's perscription with me. Plus it needs to stay upright and she turned it every which way.

While the daughter should have had extra diapers for her mother, no 95 year old women in the final stages of cancer should ever be suject to what she had to go through. It makes me sick to think of it. Whether parts of the story are more exaggerated or not, TSA has gotten a little out of control.

[wetman]

Probably (not everyone loses their control) Granny doesn't usually wet herself all the time. For the flight, as a special precaution, thinking that nothing will happen, not a long flight, but just in case, daughter convinces her to put on a depends. Being delayed and subjected to a treatment that you associate with having already committed a crime and separated from her daughter and frightened because she can't understand the guards, granny goes off.

Shit happens.

So the guard goes and asks that health and safety is restored after dignity is removed. Totally within job specs.

And they need changing, too, those specs. There are surely ways of determining if a wheelchair with metal parts will trigger a metal detector before you suddenly find (for the 560^thtime this month) that metal triggers the metal detector. Obviously the rules are so strict and narrow and well thought through that the people go to work, put their brain in ta bucket in the locker room, follow instructions for 8 hours, and then pick it up again to leave.

The spokeswoman is funny: 'can't comment, got to protect privacy...'

All in all it just shows again that the terrorists have already won.

Leave your sports bag behind in the tube and you get a bomb alarm.

[Bettypooh]

Before bashing, THINK We know there are numerous diapers which would last past the duration of the flight and it would be a simple thing for the family to be ready for a change at the end of the flight Besides, it would be really tough for a caregiver to change someone in a wheelchair in an airplane so it's rather obvious that no change was planned, so no extra diapers would be needed

I hope this story goes viral because it's long past time to force the TSA to act responsibly and to be responsible for their actions and attitudes- there's something and someone well worth bashing

Bettypooh

[greatwnorth]

“I’m not one to make waves, but dadgummit, this is wrong. People need to know. Next time it could be you.

[AutieAB]

Before bashing, THINK We know there are numerous diapers which would last past the duration of the flight

A fair point but the article explicitly names it as a "Depends diaper" and we all know how great they are... It's possible the sub-editor stuck the name in just to brand-ify it a bit, I suppose but if it was a Depends 'diaper', there's no way taking just one was adequate, even less so if it were a pullup.

[LuvsGurl]

Gotta love the TSA. The violations of American civil rights go on and on.

In their entire history of "screening" passengers, the TSA has not caught a single terrorist. This knee jerk reaction to something that happened 10 years ago needs to stop.

[phogendpf]

Gotta love the TSA! Keeping America safe, removing 1 diaper at a time.

[FretaBWet]

This is what you asked for America so what do you expect? Too many people want the government to "protect" them and that's what the government puts the show on for, so you "feel" protected. Americans voluntarily gave up their civil rights so they be could protected from the big bad terrorists. Ironically, this is probably the one thing that a majority of Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives agree on. Someday history will look back on the time frame of 2001 to the time the population regains it's sanity or grows a pair and call it the era of shame.

Hugs,

Freta

[sarah_ab]

honestly i fly often many times a year, have since i was like 13... i've got a movement disorder.... i understand that the movements i make and the things i do... make me look suspicious.... i'm almost always subject to 'random' searches.... whatever... just let them look through your bag, answer their questions, if you have medications which you know are liquid or gel and in more than the 3 oz containers do two things, one get a current prescription filled out by your doctor with their signature, 2 have your dr on their letter head write a note stating what you take, and why etc... and sign and date it...

also when you go through security, there are two check points, the first where they check your boarding pass and id and stamp it before you move onto the metal detector or full body scanner line... if you are traveling with large containers of medications, tell the first person who checks your boarding pass and ask tell them you have dr's notes...

also when you take them out of your bag and put in the bin have the dr's letter handy, and put it in the bin with the medication... and let the person know that it is coming through the scanner....

some people i've noticed, seem to feel entitled when traveling and give TSA an attitude.. the thing is... don't give attitude to the people who can make you miss your flight... sure it sucks, sure its lame, sure its rediculous... BUT its not as if you don't know its there, its not like you go to the airport and then find out "oh my gosh what IS all this security?!"

i mean its been almost a decade since these 'new' more strict laws... so really now!

do i think their policies are necessary? no.... do i think they take up time and money that they don't need to? sure.... but am i in a position to change things? no.... do i just want to get to my gate and get on my flight? YES

so i go prepared, knowing that as unfair as it is, i do look suspicious and i may be subjected to more 'searches'.....

we don't know WHAT kind of attitude the woman or her daughter really gave TSA... remember just because they are old DOES NOT mean they are some sweet little person.... even old people can be assholes and bitches... maybe they were both rude and giving attitude, course they aren't going to admit that to the press!

[BabyChris121675]

TSA has always gone a bit too far in the name of security, which is why I won't fly. I have no desire to fly because of the airline restrictions, outrageous fees, and the TSA restrictions in place since 9/11.

I have better things to do- but this is just too far. WAY too far. It's not fair to those who have to wear diapers, to deal with such humiliation. Another reason I won't fly. And I've had my chances to fly too- to Phoenix to visit my sister and to California to visit friends but dealing with the TSA is something I don't have the patience for and nor do I want to be humuiliated if they find my diaper and think I'm wearing an underwear bomb like the guy who tried to bring down the jet over Detroit two Christmases ago.

BabyChris121675

[toddler49]

Daily News

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,

[LuvsGurl]

Sorry I want to err on the Living side. I don't want to be Dead Wrong. Don't like the rules. Nobody and I mean nobody is forced to get on a plane against there wishes.

I would agree with you, had the TSA's methods actually proven effective. However, their record stands at ZERO. Millions of passengers scanned/poked/prodded/harassed/stripped/inconvenienced/etc. and not a single terrorist apprehended. If they had caught one person, one person, I could perhaps see justification. However, they haven't.

The 4th Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees American Citizens the right to be secure in their person from unreasonable searches. Government agents are required to obtain a warrant, show probable cause or witness specific and identifiable "unusual conduct" (Terry v. Ohio) before they can search you or your belongings. It was created to prevent the government from just randomly stopping/searching/harassing people as they go about their daily lives. Yet this is exactly what is happening in airports on a daily basis. The last time I checked flying was a perfectly legal activity that millions of people engage in on a daily basis. Just because I want to fly does not make me some sort of criminal or suspect in a terror investigation, but that is exactly what's going on.

Consider this... there are hundreds of bank robberies in the US every year. Yet you can still walk into a bank without being subject to a search/scan and/or pat-down. Drunk drivers endanger the lives of thousands of people on the road. Yet you can still get in your car without being subject to a breathalyzer test.

The government is using fear to restrict our civil rights... and the American Sheeple are letting them get away with it.

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --Benjamin Franklin

Americans had better start looking back at the principles this nation was founded on. Every year the govt. finds new ways to trample our rights and restrict our freedoms and we do absolutely nothing about it. Do you really want the government telling you what you can and can't do? Where you can and can't go? That's the road we're on, and the longer we stay silent the worse conditions will become.

[ldatsea]

first shoes have to be removed ..now diapers soon we will have to fly naked ..... WTF we allow this crap!

[toddler49]

I would agree with you, had the TSA's methods actually proven effective. However, their record stands at ZERO. Millions of passengers scanned/poked/prodded/harassed/stripped/inconvenienced/etc. and not a single terrorist apprehended. If they had caught one person, one person, I could perhaps see justification. However, they haven't.

The 4th Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees American Citizens the right to be secure in their person from unreasonable searches. Government agents are required to obtain a warrant, show probable cause or witness specific and identifiable "unusual conduct" (Terry v. Ohio) before they can search you or your belongings. It was created to prevent the government from just randomly stopping/searching/harassing people as they go about their daily lives. Yet this is exactly what is happening in airports on a daily basis. The last time I checked flying was a perfectly legal activity that millions of people engage in on a daily basis. Just because I want to fly does not make me some sort of criminal or suspect in a terror investigation, but that is exactly what's going on.

Consider this... there are hundreds of bank robberies in the US every year. Yet you can still walk into a bank without being subject to a search/scan and/or pat-down. Drunk drivers endanger the lives of thousands of people on the road. Yet you can still get in your car without being subject to a breathalyzer test.

The government is using fear to restrict our civil rights... and the American Sheeple are letting them get away with it.

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --Benjamin Franklin

Americans had better start looking back at the principles this nation was founded on. Every year the govt. finds new ways to trample our rights and restrict our freedoms and we do absolutely nothing about it. Do you really want the government telling you what you can and can't do? Where you can and can't go? That's the road we're on, and the longer we stay silent the worse conditions will become.

So we should just throw out any saftey measures and let the chips fall where they land. Sort of like playing Roulete. Sorry but I for on think safty comes first. They only prod and poke those who are afraid to get scanned. To much radiation from the scanner then they are the ones we see with cell phones growing from the side of their heads. Like I said nobody is forcing anyone to fly. Drive, take a train boat or walk. If I get on a plane I want to know all that could be checked was checked.

[LuvsGurl]

So we should just throw out any saftey measures and let the chips fall where they land.

No, that's not what I said.

The concept we should be focusing on is unreasonable, UNREASONABLE measures.

Seat belts are a good example. Putting on a seat belt is a noninvasive procedure, the inconvenience is very minor (takes maybe 5 seconds) and it has been proven that seat belts save lives.

On the other hand, TSA scans are very invasive, the inconvenience is huge (removal of clothing, body X-rays, pat-downs) and the TSA scans have saved ZERO lives.

As stated above, I wouldn't object to the searches if they were actually stopping terrorists or saving lives. However they are not. Along with being a violation of civil rights it is a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. The TSA should be held accountable to show that the methods being used are actually effective in accomplishing a goal. They've been using escalated search methods for 10 years now and haven't accomplished anything.

According to the DOT about 2 million people in the US fly every day. So over ten years of scanning the TSA has checked on the order of 7 billion passengers. They haven't discovered a single terrorist. Even if they had discovered one the success rate would be less than a fraction of a percent.

By your reasoning people should be searched/scanned like that before they go into any public building. Heaven knows, they could be there to rob the place! So, at what point in your mind do the actions become unreasonable?