Woman Grabbed Airport Screener's Breasts After "Invasive" Search

[matcom]

HA!!

<snip>

A federal jury in Green Bay is expected to begin deciding today whether a 62-year-old retired tech school teacher is guilty of assault for grabbing a female airport screener’s breasts at the Outagamie County Regional Airport in September 2004.

Phyllis Dintenfass of Appleton faces one federal count of assault of a federal employee for allegedly shoving a Transportation Security Administration supervisor before grabbing the female agent’s breasts to protest what Dintenfass felt was an invasive search. Her trial began Monday.

Federal prosecutors contend Phyllis Dintenfass’ actions were criminal. She claims self-defense. If convicted, Dintenfass faces a year in federal prison and up to a $100,000 fine.

In testimony before U.S. District Court Judge William Griesbach, TSA screening supervisor Anita Gostisha said she saw Dintenfass activate the metal detectors at Outagamie’s security checkpoint and heard Dintenfass assert that it was the bobby pins and barrettes in her hair that triggered the alarm. After taking Dintenfass to the secondary screening area, Gostisha said she used a handheld metal detector to wand Dintenfass’ head and body, examining areas that caused the device to alert.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_21948779.shtml

[aden_nak]

1. She was slammed against the wall by a 62 year old retiree?

You should be disqualified from any security job if a 62 year old woman can slam you against ANYTHING.

[Kingshakabobo]

9. Maybe she should have used jujitsu to toss the 62 year old on the ground

and break her hip?

[tubbacheez]

17. That would definitely help the passenger's court case. n/t

[aden_nak]

30. I'm not suggesting she hurt or even counterattack the 62 year old.

But there is a great difference between being pushed back and "slammed into a wall". Mostly, I was trying to highlight the fact that the plaintiff is likely exagerating the situation.

[tubbacheez]

15. Airport security is not like being a bouncer at a bar.

The priorities are different and because the issues are more complex there's far more thought involved. This TSA agent was a supervisor. She probably got promoted for skills and knowledge instead of brawn.

When a passenger gets out of hand, the smart security policy is to overwhelm with greater numbers and better planning than the passenger can know about.

They don't usually plan for extended 1-on-1 wrestling matches.

[MadHound]

20. Oh, I don't know about that, I've known some pretty strong oldsters

My grandmother was 6 ft., raised a family of five, including three boys, owned her own grocery store where she butchered the meat, and could still haul around a half side of beef well into her sixties.

My Mom is 5'5", and there is no way in hell I would tangle with her, even now when she is 75, with rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson's disease. Still has the strength of an ox.

Sure, you lose some strength as you get older, but if you have a great deal when you were younger, and stay active, you are still going to be pretty strong when you're old.

[youthere]

23. Yup...my grandma could kick just about anyone's ass..

well into her 80's.

[Dora]

21. 62 isn't old any more

My mom is 63 and has been doing pilates for three years.

She could kick my ass if she wanted to.

[hobbit709]

2. Put me on that jury

I'll give the government a message.

[Solo_in_MD]

7. This is jury nullification just waiting to happen

[dogday]

3. That would of been a sight to behold

an old lady pushing another against the wall and having her way with her.... bwa-ha-ha-haaahhahahaha:rofl:

[libnnc]

4. Bless. Her. Heart.

I wanna tee shirt that says "Free Phyllis!"

[MuseRider]

5. This will be me someday.

I have warned my husband and sons. I doubt I would have slammed her against the wall, not my style, but I might very well have grabbed her back. *sigh* There is prison in my future, guess I better clean my closet.

[seabeyond]

37. me too me too. lol lol i have warned family also

some day i am going to be taken down. i have to go to akumal in march. not looking forward to yet. i didnt sign up for these searches. i believe....... i truly believe...... if i am doing nothing wrong, breaking no law, no one has the right to touch my body. ANY of my body

where did we decide to accept this. where did false sense of protection and such huge fear, allow us to get to such invasion

19 machines going across country that will xray you naked, and some asshole gets to see our naked body. fuck that shit. as they flip with jackson breast, they can strip us all down

duck hop a waitin

[leetrisck]

6. The screener allowed the woman to slam

her against the wall. I think that took great control. The screener was doing her job - what makes any woman think some screener gets some kinda kick out of having to do this crap. The screener was correct - the 62 yr old was wrong.

[libnnc]

11. you touch my boobs without at least buying me dinner first...

you get slammed, dearie.

This whole screening business has become ridiculous. What the hell kind of nation has this turned into? 9/11 my ass.

[tubbacheez]

18. Airport food sucks, just FYI. n/t

[tubbacheez]

13. It's entirely possible to get slammed against a wall unwillingly.

Depending who one is, what level of combat training one has acquired, what one's state of mind is, and where the nearest wall is... it can happen.

I don't think we have enough info from the news story alone to make this determination. A jury would have to sort out a lot of potentially conflicting testimony to even have a crack at the truth. We are distant observers here.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

14. The screener knew exactly what area....

...of the 62-year-old's body was setting off the metal detector, and yet she persisted in touching other parts of the woman's body. She continued to touch the woman inappropriately IMHO, even after she was told to stop.

Are you telling us that it's okay for the screener to behave in such a manner?

Give me a break.

[MadHound]

27. No, I'm sorry, but feeling up a grandmother isn't "doing her job"

It is being completely and utterly invasive, and I don't care if the woman is six or sixty two. You can search a person, you can pat down a person, but you don't go feeling up the breasts, genitals or ass on anyone, male or female. Period.

And yes, if some dude decided to feel my package up on an airline search, I would be slamming him not just into the wall, but quite likely through it. 911 has given a ready made excuse to the power junkies large and small to abuse their positions of power, whatever size that power is. Cops feel they have the right to rifle through your bags now, TSA guards think they can feel you up, and Bushboy thinks he can get us into illegal, immoral wars, all to puff up their egos and think that they are the biggest dick hanging. This attitude will destroy this country, and it has to stop. If it means that it starts with a granny wall slamming a guard, well then, good on granny!

[leetrisck]

35. And according to the law the screener

was following - you're ass would be in jail along with your boobs. Not saying it's right but this is what the screeners are "trained" to do. Doubt seriously any worker is getting off on a power trip feeling up some broad's boobs because the damned government told them to - or get fired.

[seabeyond]

38. bullshit n/t

[Trillo]

8. Perhaps all fliers should be naked.

Security would probably then want to do a body cavity search, though.

A LOT of people DO NOT want to be TOUCHED, especially by strangers in what society has trained us to consider as private places. This goes both ways--civilian to security and security to civilian. Touching certain areas of the body is bound to raise issues regarding the need of self defense.

This could be reptilian instinct and not a conscious reaction. Ditenfass probably did her best to control herself consciously, proof of this is her having allowed the search in the first place, but at a certain point, her 'instinct for survival' took over.

That said, I would be surprised if she will win her case, but then I'm not a lawyer.

Citizens be prepared to allow your genitalia to be felt routinely and at length by the oppressors.

[tubbacheez]

12. Our newest government contractor!

Soon to be receiving buckets of Federal money, the latest major GOP contributor, and the upcoming darling of the Carlyle investment group!

Ladies and gentlemen... we present...

http://www.castawaystravel.com/








:)

[Gormy Cuss]

24. I think they will suggest cavity searches before too long.

My guess is that we're being set up. The government wants to impose the low dose full body X-rays as primary screening devices but they understand that Americans will accept that only as the lesser of two evils. Given the choice between a gloved cavity probe by a stranger and having a fullbody nude image on the screen, most people will choose the scan.

[Solo_in_MD]

41. Only if they issue blindfolds and install washable seat covers

Most humans dont look at that good naked

[tubbacheez]

10. Self-defense argument has potential here.

The passenger had reason to believe this particular pat-down was going beyond the guidelines experienced from multiple previous pat-downs. She had no way of knowing how far it would ultimately go.

Therefore, the perception that she was under attack (indeed, an on-going battery) could well be considered reasonable.

She also applied force of similar kind, severity, and duration to the unwanted touching she was experiencing.

She further made clear communication that, though she initially consented to the search, she revoked that consent when she felt it had gone too far. If supported by evidence sufficient to convince a jury, this works strongly in her favor. The TSA agent could have simply stopped the procedure and kept her in custody until things could be sorted out. The agent has far more authority to detain than to touch; she could've stayed on legally safer ground, especially being an experienced supervisor.





The prosecution will probably have a tough time with this one.

They could contend that the entire anti-terror context of the pat-down (somehow) creates a different situation where the usual rules of assault, battery, and self-defense do not apply.

They could contend that choosing to fly (somehow) automatically waives one's 4th Amendment rights to unreasonable search and seizure. A decision favoring either of these two lines of reasoning would set a massive chill on our civil rights.

They could contend that the passenger's breasts were not actually touched, but this would be difficult to claim without detailed video evidence or some equivalently neutral support.

They could contend that the search was (somehow) reasonable. A jury would have to decide if that is true.

[Zorbuddha]

16. But did they kiss?

That's what I want to know.

[NewWaveChick1981]

19. Well...

I went through a random pat-down search at Gatwick Airport in the UK (of course, this was just prior to 9/11), and female screeners only searched females and males only searched males (as it should be). The screeners were polite and stated everything they were going to do ahead of when they did it. For example, the screener told me, "I must pat down your sides," and "Sorry, but I must pat down your legs," etc. This was done in a relatively open area and was not invasive. I was pat-searched but definitely NOT felt up.

I know screeners have a hard job, but politeness and communication go a LONG way in those situations. I don't know who's right or wrong in the Wisconsin case, but I think the TSA screeners need to treat people as human beings. They could take a lesson from the UK screeners.

[phillinweird247]

22. I'm surprised they didn't taser her

If they needed to subdue that out of control, physically intimidating granny.

[MountainLaurel]

25. I have to wonder

In a country where perhaps one out of four women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime, are we going to be seeing more of these visceral, physical responses to out-of-bounds searches?

PTSD and trauma can often permanently change your synaptic patterns and how you react to certain stimuli -- sort of like the reptilian brain that someone mentioned above.

[noiretextatique]

26. this prosecution is an absurd waste of $$$$$

there was no "assault" on the screener/groper. they shouldn't even be prosecuting Dintenfass, and the jury will no doubt sympathize with her.

[Bark Bark Bark]

28. Personal Experience

The guy going over me with the wand wouldn't stop glaring at me. He also kept going over my lower half with the wand, over and over again. When he brought the wand up--tapping me in the nuts--his coworker, who had noticed the delay and was watching him, came over, chased him off, and apologized to me. I looked over as this other guy finished scanning me; the asshole was still glaring at me. I have no idea why; I did nothing to provoke him.

I'm an airline employee, and I was in uniform. I can only imagine how that buffoon acts to "civilians."

PUT ME ON THE JURY.

[DaveJ]

29. Simple Solution -- ASK HER FIRST!!!!

Many women go thru their entire lives trying to protect their breasts from being touched by anyone but their husbands, and this TSA grunt thinks it's okay to just suddenly start touching. Ridiculous. My wife probably would react the same way.

And now the TSA is trying to arrest her and charge her $100,000 for standing up for herself!?! This stuff is messed up (language editted).

Why not ask her first?????????? Make sure she is okay with it and prepared for it. If she refuses, refuse entry onto the flight or use an x-ray. Simpl as that.

What complete morons.

I worked at a temp job once with the people who hired TSA screeners, and trust me TSA hires are utter morons. Make no mistake about it.

[NewWaveChick1981]

32. That's just what the polite UK screeners did (see my post above)...

they ASKED me and TOLD me politely what was going to happen. How hard is that????? :yoiks:

[seabeyond]

39. BECAUSE a 62 yr old woman ISNT going to take DOWN a plane

stupidness simple absurd stupid ness. never in history has a 62 yr old woman taken a plane down. they knew damn well she wasnt taking a plane down. this alone is the absurdity. keep people safe, make sure they feel safe. regardless of how stupid, have a person stand with arms out like a fuckin criminal to make EVERYONE feel comfortable that they will be safe. regardless of how stupid it is. this is ALL stupid

[sniffa]

31. bwahahaha

:rofl:

[ronnykmarshall]

33. Oh no, Diana Ross is loose again!

[Moderator]

34. matcom

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.

DU Moderator

[TimeChaser]

36. While I don't think I would have tossed her against the wall

I most definitely would have lashed out. Personally, I get very jumpy if someone I don't know touches me. Hells, I jump if my grandfather comes up and puts his hand on the back of my neck. My boyfriend had to surprise me the first time we held hands, because I kept instictivly moving away at first (erm... that's changed :) ). Some of us just don't like to be touched by people we don't know well.

A little politeness and a warning goes a long way.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

40. Well, it's good thing she wasn't wearing a coat in London.