Latest TSA Outrage

[CPT Tripss]

TSA asks 95-year-old woman to remove diaper for pat-down

By Rebecca Ruiz, Senior editor, msnbc.com

According to the Northwest Florida Daily News, a woman filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security alleging that her 95-year-old mother was asked by Transportation Security Administration officials to remove her adult diaper in order to comply with a pat-down search.

The incident reportedly took place June 18 when Jean Weber's mother, who is in the final stages of leukemia, was attempting to fly from Northwest Florida Regional Airport to Michigan to visit family members. Weber's mother required the assistance of a wheelchair to pass through the security.

Sari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami who would not comment specifically on the case, told the Daily News that it is policy to pat-down passengers in wheelchairs.

“TSA cannot exempt any group from screening because we know from intelligence that there are terrorists out there that would then exploit that vulnerability,” Koshetz told the paper.

Weber said that her mother was detained for 45 minutes. She was first taken into a glass-partitioned area for a pat-down and then to another private room for additional screening. Weber said that security personnel emerged from the room and asked that her mother remove the diaper, which was soiled, in order to complete the search. Weber took her mother to the bathroom and removed the diaper; Weber's mother did not have another clean diaper with her.

A Homeland Security representative told Weber on Wednesday that procedures had been correctly followed during the search.

“It’s something I couldn’t imagine happening on American soil,” Weber told the Daily News. “Here is my mother, 95 years old, 105 pounds, barely able to stand, and then this.”

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_n...-year-old-woman-to-remove-diaper-for-pat-down

 

[bumbershoot]

If I had breast implants, a fake knee, some sort of ostomy bag, etc etc etc etc, and I were going through security, I would expect and even HOPE that they would be paying attention to these places on me that could hide something.

Now, a diaper is getting on the gross and embarrassing side, but it's still a place that could be used to hide things, simply because the bad guy might think "they won't check THERE".


To ME, the outrage is...

Weber said that security personnel emerged from the room and asked that her mother remove the diaper, which was soiled, in order to complete the search. Weber took her mother to the bathroom and removed the diaper; Weber's mother did not have another clean diaper with her.

This woman was going to have her mother SIT on the airplane in a soiled diaper b/c she didn't have another one with her. Words fail me how awful I feel that is!


I know that TSA is generally considered to be "theater", but here they are, looking at something where something bad could be concealed, kind of the opposite of theater IMO, and they are being called the bad guys on it. So weird.

 

[brenda1966]

I agree that it is seriously disturbing that they didn't have any clean diapers with them? What if she went #2 in it. Are people supposed to sit next to a smelly diaper for an entire plane ride? I feel worse for the old lady about having to wear a dirty diaper than I do for the intrusive examination.

 

[aubriee]

I have absolutely no problem with theTSA doing this. I work at a psychiatric hospital. We have one client who is notorious for hiding stuff in her diapers. We have an order to search her every shift. You wouldn't believe the stuff she manages to hide in there.

Like everyone else, my problem is with the fact that the family didn't have any extra diapers for grandma and expected her to sit for several hours on a plane in a soiled diaper.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Seriously?

You all are OK with literal strip searches that examine the insides of a diaper? Would you be OK with an Airport Security Screener looking inside your knickers? Or having your undies examined when going off shift at the hospital to be certain that no drugs were being taken out?

You want the contents of ostomy or cath bags examined? Looks like ****, smells like ****, must be ****. Or perhaps just a little camoflague on the Semtex.

And exactly how would the contents of a breast implant be checked and verified to be harmless by an Airport Security Screener?

An artificial hip - it's metal. What does a hands on feel of the hip area or the old and no longer used hand wand prove about the safety of a passengers "artifical" hip? They just assume that it's an artifical hip and not some nefarious device.

So yeap, it's all still "theater" that demeans and degrades those subjected to the such intrusiveness.

Now, perhaps the daughter should have had extra diapers with her. Quite possibly "Mom" simply has some leakage and is otherwise continent. We just don't know. Then again, where on an airplane is there adequate, private space to change an adult diaper? And if the daughter was not flying with "Mom", but just escorting her to the gate, who on the plane would change the diaper? Not the FAM and surely not the cabin crew.

 

[aubriee]

Here's another copy of the story, but if you notice in this one the TSA agents 'felt something suspicious and couldn't determine what it was so took her to a private room' and no I don't have a problem with what they did. Do you think a terrorist wouldn't use their grandmother? As far as being checked for drugs, we are randomly screened periodically for drugs. Our hospital also has the drug dogs come out at least once a month. Our security goes around with the drug dog and his handler in the parking lots first sniffing of cars, then as we walk out that morning we walk past them. They are looking for drugs or weapons, neither of which are allowed on campus. They do it for all three shifts. If the dogs ever found something, then yes we would be required to do a strip search. None of us have a problem with it. I'd rather go through that, than have some crazy ex patient or disgruntled ex employee come in with a gun.

TSA Pats Down Cancer-Stricken 95-Year-Old Woman, Removes Adult Diaper (VIDEO)
by AOL Travel Staff Subscribe to AOL Travel Staff's postsPosted Jun 26th 2011 10:45 PM

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TSA security officers at Florida's Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport patted down a cancer-stricken, 95-year-old woman and forcibly removed her adult diaper during the search, CNN reports. Could this end up being yet another TSA PR nightmare?

Jean Weber was traveling with her ill mother on June 18 from Florida to Michigan to see relatives "in the final stages of her battle with leukemia" when the incident occurred.

Weber told CNN that while she thinks the officers may have been "procedurally correct...the procedure needs to be changed." Weber noted that her mother had had a blood transfusion the week before.

A Suspiciously "Wet and Firm" Diaper

While passing through security, TSA officials "felt something suspicious and they couldn't determine what it was," so they took Weber's mother to a private room.

A TSA agent told Weber that her mother's Depends underwear was "wet and firm and they couldn't check it thoroughly," so the mother-daughter duo left in search of a bathroom to remove the underwear. Weber did not have an extra pair of Depends with her.

Weber "burst into tears" but her mother was "very calm" even though she was forced to go through the airport without underwear. Her elderly mother was taken to the boarding gate without her as Weber was still going through security.

TSA Defends Search

In response to the incident, the TSA said on Sunday that "While every person and item must be screened before entering the secure boarding area, TSA works with passengers to resolve security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner. We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally and according to proper procedure."

 

[kaytieeldr]

Seriously?

You all are OK with literal strip searches that examine the insides of a diaper?

Seriously. This wasn't a literal strip search. It doesn't appear the TSA was examining the inside of her adult diaper, but from the outside could tell it was soiled. Seriously, do you want a 95 year old cancer patient traveling in a diaper so wet with urine (or other) that it can be determined from the outside? Would you do that to your mom or grandmother? It's not the TSA's responsibility that they didn't have another Depends or two.

Then again, where on an airplane is there adequate, private space to change an adult diaper?

The bathroom? On some planes, two can be combined to accommodate disabled pax and a companion.

And if the daughter was not flying with "Mom", but just escorting her to the gate, who on the plane would change the diaper?

we know from the story aubriee posted that the two were traveling together. But why do you think the woman couldn't/can't change her own adult diaper? Do you think she typically sits home in a wet or worse diaper until or unless someone shows up to change it for her? She needs a wheelchair to get around the airport - that doesn't make her helpless.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Am I wrong to be more outraged that the daughter was making her mom sit in a soiled diaper for possibly hours and didn't bring any extras than that TSA found the "lumpy" diaper suspicious and needed to search it?

 

[kaytieeldr]

According to the OP, yes. According to ALL the responses to that post so far? Nope. You're right there with the rest of us.

 

[Brian Noble]

According to the OP, yes. According to ALL the responses to that post so far? Nope. You're right there with the rest of us.

Not surprising. The OP is well known for their "views" regarding TSA.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Nope . . . not anything for security. There are things that are best kept private. The contents of one's undergarments is at the top of my list. Y'all can bare yourselves to government agents if you want.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Not surprising. The OP is well known for their "views" regarding TSA.

What? No more "ignore list?"

 

[kaytieeldr]

Nope . . . not anything for security. There are things that are best kept private. The contents of one's undergarments is at the top of my list. Y'all can bare yourselves to government agents if you want.

Uh, yeah. The TSA considers the contents of one's underwear private (by having the passenger remove the soiled adult diaper, they were preventing said contents from getting on the plane - aka their goal). It's not their responsibility that neither the passenger nor her travel companion carried replacement adult diapers.

How far was the flight - to the nearest pharmacy or big box store?

eta: Moderators, is it possible to change the title of this thread to "Latest Daughter Outrage"?

 

[PatsMom]

I absolutely agree that the biggest outrage is travelling with a 95 year old woman with continence issues and not having a spare Depends! I am a bladder cancer survivor and know several people with bags who travel. After a little rough start they now have a pretty good procedure for taking care of the urostomy bags.

During cancer treatments there were times when I had pretty darn severe bladder spasms and resorted to Depends "just in case". I can't imagine not having a spare in my bag.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Seriously?

You all are OK with literal strip searches that examine the insides of a diaper? Would you be OK with an Airport Security Screener looking inside your knickers? Or having your undies examined when going off shift at the hospital to be certain that no drugs were being taken out?

You want the contents of ostomy or cath bags examined? Looks like ****, smells like ****, must be ****. Or perhaps just a little camoflague on the Semtex.

And exactly how would the contents of a breast implant be checked and verified to be harmless by an Airport Security Screener?

An artificial hip - it's metal. What does a hands on feel of the hip area or the old and no longer used hand wand prove about the safety of a passengers "artifical" hip? They just assume that it's an artifical hip and not some nefarious device.

So yeap, it's all still "theater" that demeans and degrades those subjected to the such intrusiveness.

Now, perhaps the daughter should have had extra diapers with her. Quite possibly "Mom" simply has some leakage and is otherwise continent. We just don't know. Then again, where on an airplane is there adequate, private space to change an adult diaper? And if the daughter was not flying with "Mom", but just escorting her to the gate, who on the plane would change the diaper? Not the FAM and surely not the cabin crew.

Perhaps you should face reality. They do all these things you are hysterical about NOW!

If you want change then you need to get off the DIS and write your elected officals and demand that the TSA be revamped to do REAL security. But it's easier to go on the "assumption" that a terrorist won't use her child, her mother etc... REALLY? Ask some of our soliders where the guns have been found hidden in the MidEast?

The TSA is a waste, but part of the reason is "exceptions" by age, job etc....

So the fact that they didn't make an exception for "old" is actually good. Remember the bomber had his explosives in his undies!!!!!!


Now the daughter should be watched by whomever does "elder abuse" in her area. She apparently does not know how to care for her mother IMHO!

 

[jodifla]

Here's The Detroit News version of this story. Note that the TSA starts to take it out on the daughter, because she is crying:
]
And of course, I agree with the OP that it's absolutely despicable, but I'm not surprised that the DIS board folks rush to its defense:


http://www.detnews.com/article/2011...move-adult-diaper-for-pat-down--daughter-says
Last Updated: June 26. 2011 10:17PM
TSA forced woman, 95, to remove adult diaper for pat down, daughter says
Darren A. Nichols/ The Detroit News

A Florida woman is reeling after her 95-year-old mother was embarrassed by having to take off her adult diaper at the Northwest Regional Airport while heading to Michigan.

Jean Weber has alerted the Department of Homeland Security after her mother was ordered to take off the diaper in order to complete a pat-down search last weekend.

Her mother, who is in the end stage of a battle with leukemia, was heading to Hastings, Mich., southeast of Grand Rapids, to visit her last living brother and other family members before possibly dying, Weber said.

"At that time, all I could think about is why they are doing this to a 95-year-old woman who is in a wheelchair? She's in ill health and she just wanted to go home," Weber told The News from her home in Destin, Fla., Sunday afternoon.

Weber's mother reportedly was detained for nearly 45 minutes while she was searched. She was first pulled aside into a glass-partitioned area before being taken to another room for a more expensive search.

That's when security officials said they needed her mother to take off her Depends diaper because it was blocking their search.

"She had wet her Depends and it gelled up," Weber said.

After taking her to the bathroom to remove the diaper, Weber was distraught and began crying. She was then detained while the search continued.

"(To security), that triggered unusual behavior. Everything was taken out of my purse and I was patted down," Weber said. "It was two minutes before her plane departed. I was sobbing at that point.

"I was just horrified and balling. I don't know if I was going to get up there to see her again. I was thinking this is the last time I can see here and it's like this." In a statement emailed to The News, TSA said it followed proper procedure.

"While every person and item must be screened before entering the secure boarding area, TSA works with passengers to resolve security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner," the statement said. "We have reviewed the circumstances involving this screening and determined that our officers acted professionally and according to proper procedure."

Weber said her mother eventually made her flight that connected in Atlanta and arrived in Grand Rapids. Since then, Weber filed a complaint with TSA, who contacted her last week.

The media has also picked up on the story, and Weber has been called by Fox News, CNN and local television and newspapers. She's talking about the issue in order to resolve the issue with the procedures that she says isn't sensitive to the elderly.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to get it resolved," Weber said. "My mother is like a small child in her age. She has to be protected and care for, like child. I just resented them treating her that way.

"I hope this doesn't happen to anybody else. If I speak up enough it won't. Nobody should feel the way I felt that day. I'm not angry. The rules need to be changed."

dnichols@detnews.com

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110626...per-for-pat-down--daughter-says#ixzz1QVQgsOUb

 

[CPT Tripss]

Really, they test the contents of ostomy bags, cath bags and breast implants now? He!! they don't even test the contents of the "oversize" liquid containers that they now forbid you to travel with.

BTW, along with writing my federal represtatives, I contribute to groups that sue government agencies that disrespect our liberties.

FWIW, I have seen guerrillas using old people and young kids to carry weapons, I've also seen bicycles stuffer with plastique used as weapons. Zealous followers of a cause will stop at nothing - does that mean we need to just give in to "the (over)zealous protectors?" Will you (the general you) be OK with cavity searches when that tactic is used somewhere else and TSA tells us the search "is just for our safety?"

The daughter screwed up if she was on the flight with her mom. Does that make the actions of the Airport Security Screeners acceptable? Davy Crocket, Fess Parker and Mary Wells all agree that "two wrongs don't make a right."

 

[PatsMom]

I am not sure what you mean by cath bags. If you are referring to urostomy bags, then yes the contents are tested. Or so I am told by a couple of friends who have them. I would assume that ostomy bags are tested the same way.

A friend of mine has a prosthetic she wears for a breast. She has never been the subject of a pat down so I am not sure if they would test it or not. Or if it would show up on the x-ray. When you talk about breast implants, they are not removable. Or detectable by a pat down or the x-ray. So I imagine they are not checked.

If the 95 year old woman is helpless and should be treated like a child, all the more reason to search. If the daughter was a terrorist, she could have explosives in the depends.

And I love the way the media is playing up the word "diaper". Most people who need protective undergarments much prefer that the Depends be referred to as protective undergarments.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

What? No more "ignore list?"

Teh point is so well taken.the OP is on a campaign againist any seciurty and the TSa.......often calling the personal rude names..........


Thia is sad for the elderly woman but well within the grounds of TSa to check where a weapon or bomb could be hidden.


The fact that the womans daugther did not have the courtesy to have extra adult diapers is WILD...........just how embrassed would the elderly lady be when seated and the odor spread around the plane.

Any story posted by this OP has to be suspected as being facted or presented very one sided.!

AKK

 

[pr surfer]

I'm on the OP's side on this one. This is too much.

I'm not against any security- just in favor of common sense security.