Elderly, Sick Woman Forced To Remove Diaper For US Airport Security

[webfact]

Elderly, sick woman forced to remove diaper for US airport security

Washington - A 95-year-old woman who was flying from Florida to Michigan for life's last phase was forced by airport security officials to remove her adult diaper, her family said Sunday.

The woman had been brought to an airport in north-west Florida on June 18 by her daughter for a flight to Hastings, Michigan, in a wheelchair.

Department of Homeland Security agents detained the woman alone in a room, daughter Jean Weber told CNN.

Security agents emerged later with the older woman and told Weber to take her to the public bathroom and remove the adult diaper.

Weber said she tried to explain to the agents that her mother was very ill with leukaemia.

"I told them she was going back to Michigan to die," 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 Detroit News from her home in Destin, Florida.

Weber said she was so upset when she came back to security screening from the bathroom that she started to cry, at which point she herself was detained.

"I was crying. They felt I was a security risk," she said.

Her mother managed to make it to the plane on time, but Weber was then held up as agents tested everything in her purse and on her body, and missed the departure. She said she was not sure if she would ever see her mother again alive.

Weber has filed a complaint with the Transportation Security Administration, which was organized after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

The aggency stood by its security officers Sunday, saying that they "acted professionally and according to proper procedure.

-- The Nation 2011-06-27

[mpoppel]

This is a statement from the TSA about this:

"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."

They also said that they would never ask a passenger to remove an adult diaper, and they said various options such as private screening were offered to this woman.

Edited June 27, 2011 by mpoppel

[TheWalkingMan]

95 years old? And then the TSA children got ticked off at the daughter for crying so they detained her. That is security?

TheWalkingMan

[Scott]

Apparently a pat down was not an option.

[up-country_sinclair]

Unfortunate turn of events for this woman and her family, but safe air travel has to the first priority.

[grumpyoldman]

How is this "World News", yeeeeeesh.............

[TheWalkingMan]

ummm... Obviously she was targeted as a potential terrorist or one who would make air travel unsafe.

The TSA should stop fooling around, make a strip down lane and allow all people who want to walk around in their underware/beachwear/thongs to do it. Let the TSA rummage through clothes or pass the clothes through the x-ray machine. Simple. That would save time and add to the experience of traveling in the USA.

That would work until it becomes mandatory for the proctological exams to occur. When that happens I will make sure that I eat a ton of burritos before I fly.

TheWalkingMan

[Steely Dan]

ummm... Obviously she was targeted as a potential terrorist or one who would make air travel unsafe.

The TSA should stop fooling around, make a strip down lane and allow all people who want to walk around in their underware/beachwear/thongs to do it. Let the TSA rummage through clothes or pass the clothes through the x-ray machine. Simple. That would save time and add to the experience of traveling in the USA.

That would work until it becomes mandatory for the proctological exams to occur. When that happens I will make sure that I eat a ton of burritos before I fly.

TheWalkingMan

Didn't they just throw a black bloke off a plane for having too much cleft showing? Damned if you do damned if you don't these days. Every time I fly I say a prayer of thanks to the death cult of shoe and underpant bombers who make this necessary. :jap:

[Chaam local]

Unfortunate turn of events for this woman and her family, but safe air travel has to the first priority.

So many lawyers, so much procedure, so little place for common sense...

[DP25]

Shameful and embarrassing

[Flex2791]

After all these years fighting wars they started in Iraq and Afghanistan, I am sure Americans are no longer living paranoid and afraid of the boogeyman. By now, Americans must be relishing in their new found safety, security and freedom for all......oh wait, what did they do to this sick elderly woman in the name of safety, security and freedom? IDIOTS!

[gregb]

Unfortunate turn of events for this woman and her family, but safe air travel has to the first priority.

Not correct. Your values are mis prioritized. There is very little danger in air travel. But if you disagree with me, let the market decide.

Have 1 air terminal that promotes convenience and freedom from embarrassment, along with low cost because they don't have to pay nazis to pat down 95 year old grandma's, and a second terminal with authoritarian police state controls like we have today. Those that feel like you can go to the latter, and everyone who values their dignity can use the former. I don't accept that there is a serious threat. A simple metal detector is more than sufficient to provide adequate protection.

Everything else is just an excuse to allow the government to control the movement of its citizens.

[colinscarr]

What is the Thai angle in this story? Time the thread was closed methinks.

[Credo]

Shameful and embarrassing

That Depends.

[Scott]

This is World News. There is no Thai angle and there doesn't need to be a Thai angle.

One conspiracy-theory has been deleted.

[TheWalkingMan]

We are just scared of everything! I saw a video of a guy who stripped down to his underware before going through the metal detectors... The TSA brainiacs told him to put them back on and go through the detectors. They should have just x-rayed his clothes and sent him on his way. Was the goal to x-ray the clothes while being worn or to have them x-rayed in order to check for explosives, weapons or whatever.

TheWalkingMan

[geriatrickid]

Perhaps it might be wiser to await the full facts. These stories tend to grow legs. It will be interesting to see the recording of the event. Often, people can be uncooperative and difficult at these checkpoints.. I don't know about you but I am still getting stuck behind idiots trying to bring restricted items through the security points. Have a look at the garbage bins and tables next time you travel. Big bottles of liquids. I had to wait behind some jerk trying to take steak knives through. Another time, some fool had 20+ batteries that set off the warning bells.

[Jingthing]

Yeah we don't know the details, but realistically, when was the last time these TSA folks actually found an actual terrorist with all their obsessions on getting at the details of the public's crotches? The last I heard -- NEVER.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Jingthing

[Scott]

I am always cooperative with the TSA; not because I agree with them, but because I know what they can do if I appear not to be cooperative.

By the way the underwear bomber would be an example of someone whose crotch should have been inspected.

[Jingthing]

I am always cooperative with the TSA; not because I agree with them, but because I know what they can do if I appear not to be cooperative.

By the way the underwear bomber would be an example of someone whose crotch should have been inspected.

You didn't read the question. TSA did NOT find him.

[Ulysses G.]

The point is to provide incentive for terrorists to not bother even trying to carry explosives on an airplane and reduce terrorist incidents as much as possible. It might very well be working.

[Jingthing]

The point is to provide incentive for terrorists to not bother even trying to carry explosives on an airplane and reduce terrorist incidents as much as possible. It might very well be working.

That's an assertion that can't actually be proven. Personally, I think they go too far. Such as not bringing water on board a long flight when they never give you enough water on the plane. Recently, I brought an empty water bottle on at Bangkok and in transit in Korea (after going through their security) was disallowed to bring actual water on the plane after a SECOND security check on the plane -- I had obviously filled the bottle from the water fountains. They allowed me the option to drink the water. Tell me honestly if there were explosives in the water bottle, would I drink it? Why don't they just let people drink some of their water, then they would know it isn't explosive?

[Scott]

And you didn't read my response: Should have been inspected.

[Jingthing]

Now we all have to remove our shoes to go through security. Looking ahead to the day when someone is caught on the plane with an explosive in their ANUS. No, I don't mean too many chile peppers either.

So what I am saying? Profile people. Use more intelligent methods. And also do impose RANDOM searches for a few people so actual terrorists will still be freaked out and usually show their nervousness (people can be trained to detect that). Now that just have low level people enforcing mindless rules, like no water. We have mostly security theater, not the smartest actual security.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Jingthing

[coma]

Poor old lady. She should have taken a dump in it before handing it over for inspection.

[Jingthing]

Poor old lady. She should have taken a dump in it before handing it over for inspection.

Bravo. I hope they take this case seriously too. They have gone too far and people are accepting any kind of indignity for the feeling of security. That's a precursor to fascism. The terrorists wanted to change the American way of life. They succeeded. So dead Bin Laden or not, which side really won?

Another way to look at this, the USA is in a MUCH WEAKER position internationally since the 9/11 attack. One big reason is the massive waste on overseas wars. It somehow reminds me of the way in which the Soviet Union fell.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Jingthing

[coma]

Poor old lady. She should have taken a dump in it before handing it over for inspection.

Bravo. I hope they take this case seriously too. They have gone too far and people are accepting any kind of indignity for the feeling of security. That's a precursor to fascism. The terrorists wanted to change the American way of life. They succeeded. So dead Bin Laden or not, which side really won?

Another way to look at this, the USA is in a MUCH WEAKER position internationally since the 9/11 attack. One big reason is the massive waste on overseas wars. It somehow reminds me of the way in which the Soviet Union fell.

Absolutely correct. They have already won by changing our entire way of life. All these terrorists would be reading these stories and laughing their <deleted> off as they continue planning more actions to inconvenience our 'infidel' lifestyles.

[philw]

Poor old lady. She should have taken a dump in it before handing it over for inspection.

Bravo. I hope they take this case seriously too. They have gone too far and people are accepting any kind of indignity for the feeling of security. That's a precursor to fascism. The terrorists wanted to change the American way of life. They succeeded. So dead Bin Laden or not, which side really won?

Another way to look at this, the USA is in a MUCH WEAKER position internationally since the 9/11 attack. One big reason is the massive waste on overseas wars. It somehow reminds me of the way in which the Soviet Union fell.

I am very pleased to sadly agree with you.( if you see what I mean. )

It's become farcical and it's not even security, merely the exercise of power for powers sake by morons who probably would not recognise a bomb if it went off.

It's all very stupid and sad.

I'm a Brit by the way.

[SteeleJoe]

Yeah we don't know the details, but realistically, when was the last time these TSA folks actually found an actual terrorist with all their obsessions on getting at the details of the public's crotches? The last I heard -- NEVER.

Not commenting on this story (not enough facts) or even whether the TSA is typically excessive in their practices or policies, I'm just addressing your argument above:

The fact that they haven't caught anyone in no way proves that the "getting at the details of the public's crotches" is ineffective or unnecessary. It may very well be that the reason why we haven't had any successful acts of terrorism by competent operators is because security is so stringent as to entirely dissuade any of the serious folks from even trying.

I said it days after 9/11: the era of airplane hijacking may be over because while we can NOT stop terrorism the one thing we CAN do is make it virtually impossible to get a weapon/explosive on a plane and so I expected that that would be one thing we WOULD do. A passenger aircraft used to be a feasible and relatively soft target but perhaps it just may no longer be -- in part because of the OTT security (along with hyper-vigilance by passengers and less willingness to passively submit).

Edited June 27, 2011 by SteeleJoe

[DP25]

Poor old lady. She should have taken a dump in it before handing it over for inspection.

She apparently did. They couldn't search her because it was soiled, so they made her remove it. She didn't have a backup to wear either.