Airport TSA worker pranks traveler. Loses job

[Liberal_in_LA]

Student pranked by Philadelphia airport TSA worker

Saturday, January 23, 2010
(01-23) 11:50 PST PHILADELPHIA (AP) --

A college student returning to school after the winter break fell victim to a prank at Philadelphia's airport by a Transportation Security Administration worker who pretended to plant a plastic bag of white powder in her carryon luggage.

The worker is no longer employed by the TSA after the incident this month, a spokeswoman said.

Rebecca Solomon, 22, a University of Michigan student, wrote in a column for her campus newspaper that she was having her bags screened on Jan. 5 before her flight to Detroit when the employee stopped her, reached into her laptop computer bag and pulled out the plastic bag, demanding to know where she had gotten the powder.

-------------------------

"He let me stutter through an explanation for the longest minute of my life," Solomon wrote. "Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded with him to understand that I'd never seen this baggie before."

A short time later, she said, the worker smiled and said it was his.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/23/national/a095215S29.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0dTPo8JtJ

[bluestateguy]

1. Good. Give that person's job to someone who deserves it.

That "prankster" can starve on the street for all I care.

[elehhhhna]

33. So the TSA guys aren't screened? How'd he get it through there?

lol are we safe, yet?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. He should not only have lost his job...he should be prosecuted.

Joking around about a serious matter of this sort must not be tolerated.

That poor girl.

His behavior was disgusting.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. Considering the setting of this 'prank'

I'd say this asshole got off easy. I am not a lawyer, so I don't know exactly what laws may have been broken, but if it were within my power, I'd have a whole team of law clerks digging for a good reason to prosecute this shithead, bury him under the jail & then build a new jail on top of him!

[PSPS]

4. Here's what gets me about this

This student was 14 when the bush junta stripped her of her rights. In other words, she's been pretty much conditioned to accept living in our police state as 'normal.' Hence, her reaction: "Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded with him to understand that I'd never seen this baggie before." In other words, willing submission to the jack boot.

If it had been me they tried this on, the guy would be wondering how his ass got across the room.

[jberryhill]

8. You might consider reading the entire article

She asked for a supervisor, filled out a complaint, and the TSA employee is now an unemployee.

Do you frequently resolve your problems with violence?

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[Regret My New Name]

17. That form she filled out worked out far better than her attacking him would have...

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

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[tkmorris]

29. Can you imagine an outcome better than the agent being fired

That would have resulted from the young lady, instead of taking the actions she did, had physically assaulted the TSA agent instead? I'm no seer either, but I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty the outcome of that would have been worse for her.

[treestar]

20. It's called the rule of law and it prevents a lot of violence

And had there been any the victim could have ended up charged with assault too.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

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[treestar]

31. No, the concept of not assaulting people is still alive

Civil disobedience has nothing to do with this and isn't necessary here. The girl did not need violence and did not resort to it.

[treestar]

21. I wouldn't take that from it

that is going to be the natural first reaction. It doesn't say she never meant to take any steps to defend herself otherwise. But that would be a hassle. So people try to avoid having to do it.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

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[treestar]

30. Just because you try at first does not mean that you won't do something later

It is natural to want to avoid lawsuits, and especially brushes with the criminal law, they are a pain.

There's no reason to assume this girl was intending to do nothing to fight this.

[donco6]

34. Right.

As long as you really didn't need to catch the flight, it might feel good. Most of us don't have that luxury.

[Cid_B]

37. Yes yes...

I'm sure you would have broken out in a massive hulk style rage and promptly beat his ass. :eyes:

[cherokeeprogressive]

41. You'd have opened that can o' whoopass and subjected him to the asswhoopin' to beat all asswhoopin's

That about right?

Yup Yup.

[onethatcares]

5. can you spell "LAWSUIT"??

jeeeeezzzuzzzonabananapeel, this guy should be nailed for public embarassment or some other charge and send his paychecks to her for the next 30 years.

That's so funny, yeah, so funny.

[taterguy]

11. You can't collect money every time someone's an asshole and scares the hell out of you

I'd be a multi-millionaire if that was the case.

[onethatcares]

13. ok, my mistake.

I guess that being in front of the rest of the folks waiting to board the flight, or to get into the terminal thought, "Wow, what a funny thing that just happened".

Maybe I just have a jaded outlook. Thanx for the headzup.

Peace

[taterguy]

19. I'm not saying it wasn't a bad thing, just that there's no cause of action

Unless there are facts to the incident that aren't in the article.

[Hippo_Tron]

16. You can if their employer has money and you have a good lawyer

[jberryhill]

18. Wow....

You'd be surprised how many people think "being upset" is a legal cause of action, though.

False imprisonment jumps to mind as a claim that might get a foot in the door here, as she was detained for no lawful purpose.

[treestar]

23. this might meet the requirements for the intentional tort of

intentional infliction of emotional distress. Defendant's conduct is outrageous and egregious and Defendant intended to cause emotional distress.

[taterguy]

28. How much experience do you have practicing law in Pennsylvania?

I'm not a lawyer but I know it's nowhere close to the standard for IIED in my jurisdiction.

[uppityperson]

40. YOU would be a multi-millionaire?

[progressoid]

6. Douche.

[chrisa]

7. I bet this idiot was having a power trip,

Bullying a 22 year old female college student. She got the last laugh.

[Beartracks]

12. I wonder if he then asked for her number? n/t

[Beartracks]

10. As a kid, I learned not to joke in airports about...

... security. Way back in the days when family could accompany travelers down to the gate, we had just passed through the security screening point and I said to my dad, "Hey, they didn't find my bomb!" We were all of maybe 10 feet past the security personnel, but I don't think they heard the little kid making the lame joke. But I'll never forget my father telling me not to even make jokes like that because I could get arrested. Granted, even at that age I'm not sure I believed incarceration would be the result of a hammy 8-year-old cracking wise about a device he clearly did not possess -- although I seem to recall getting the impression that suspicion would probably fall on my father rather than me. But anyhow, Dad's particular word choice, and especially his grave tone, indicated to me in no uncertain terms that airport security is a serious matter, and jokes cannot and should not be tolerated. They can't take the chance that anyone, even a little kid, is only joking.

It only stands to reason, then, that if passengers can't "joke" about security matters, then neither can security personnel.

If a security agent can't handle the repetitive routine of the work without pulling stunts to relieve boredom, then they shouldn't be working in security.

[onethatcares]

14. and the choir says,

AMEN.

[treestar]

22. I remember a sign in the airport telling you not to joke about it

[tblue37]

32. A little kid's remark about "doing it for the TV show" alerted

law enforcement to the fact that his father had set up a hoax (Balloon Boy). Airport security would take a remark like yours quite seriously, even coming from an 8-year-old, on the assumption that as an inexperienced child, you might not realze that you were spilling actual information your father did not want revealed.

[Beartracks]

39. Exactly.

It's not something to be joked about regardless of age or which side of the friggin' screening machine your standing on.

The incident I described was back in the ever-so-innocent 70's. But even then, my dad was pretty quick and completely right to wise me up.

[donco6]

35. Great point. n/t

[Danger Mouse]

15. What an asshat. Glad he got shitcanned.

[marmar]

24. If he's dumb enough to try something like that at an airport in this day and age......

...... He's clearly too dumb to be screening bags for explosives.

Darwin's nightmare. :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[mainer]

36. If he could prank her, he could also frame her.

He could send to prison anyone (muslim, for example) whose looks he didn't particularly like.

[slampoet]

38. He should be in JAIL. Just loosing your job is not sufficient punishment. Any of us would be jailed