Seems they are becoming media savvy…
We previously reported here the case of a Secret Service mother and her ordeal trying to get through airport security to board her flight. Now the TSA has responded by releasing two videos and a PDF file with the incident report. It appears that she flashed her Secret Service badge several times to airport personnel and the videos seem to show her throwing the water on the floor, which could be an accident or on purpose. You decide.
The information comes from this page.
These are the two videos:
1. Video One (almost 2 minutes)
2. Video two (almost 11 minutes)
PDF File of incident.
This first video just stole two minutes of my life that I will never have back again…. there was no lady, no toddler, no sippy cup…. no bage flashing….
Gasparrini, thanks for posting this follow-up!! I didn’t think anyone would read the original thread since I posted so late:
48. TSA has denied this whole mess:
http://www.tsa.gov/approach/mythbusters/index.shtm
Comment by BubbaRay — 6/16/2007 @ 5:07 am
#1, Wrong, you can see a lady pushing a baby stroller in the video, followed by a member of the airport personnel.
The second video show more about the situation, but it’s quite long.
Without audio, it loses its punch. All I got out of it was it looks like the TSA officer need to go on a diet.
Without actually hearing what was said it’s a tough call, but it seems to me that the video corroborates the TSA explanation.
On the one hand, she seems to deliberately and indignantly empty the water onto a highly polished floor (in itself a safety hazard), which is bound to escalate the situation with the officials. Flashing a badge would just make the situation worse, since it doesn’t (shouldn’t) matter who you are — the rules may not be clever but they apply to everyone. I’ve seen this kind of thing happen several times at airports where passengers feel that their ability to flout the rules and rush to their destinations and go about _their_ business is more important than the safety of everyone else.
On the other hand, if the TSA are going to be required to enforce these stupid “liquid” rules they should have the facilities to do so quickly and properly — like sinks and waste disposals installed at the checkpoints.
At the end of the TSA were doing their jobs _and_ covering their backs — if someone had slipped on that water there would inevitably have been lawsuits and firings out the wazoo. And they don’t make the rules.
Now that we know where the cameras are I wonder how many people will mug and dance in front of them?
Anyone notice that the security video clocks are almost 15 minutes off with respect to the written report? That’s more disturbing than the incident, if the reliability of those timestamps were crucial to a real investigation.
I agree with OFTLO, Bushs’ fault.
#4 – *LOL*
#5 – Agreed.
I love the TSA reference to “Sterile Area”. Since when have humans been sterile? Anyway aren’t human beings meant to be made up of 70% water?
Its all a crock of shit, all these stupid rules. Get to the root cause. If the UK and US hadn’t acted like imperialists for the last few hundred years we probably wouldn’t have all this shite to deal with in 2007.
I’m sure this kind of thing happens many times a day across the country at airport security. Why did this one become such a big deal? Did the woman file a formal complaint?
There are so many government agents that they’re now picking on each other.
#8 – FINALLY some freakin’ respect…. 🙂
#10 Jonathan
All we need now is a time machine to go back and correct the “root cause.” The UK should be primarily responsible for the development costs as the US spent our first hundred years with internal matters, chasing the indigenous population, fighting with the Brits and each other. This leaves us with only about 130 years responsibility. The UK can have the rest of the responsibility for the “several hundred years” imperialism.
Should the UK care not to foot most of the bill for a very difficult project, I guess we’ll have to leave our sippy cups at home.
Perry
#13, #8, Bush’s fault? Too much credit. No blame for Cheney?
Seems like their actions were reasonable. It’s the policy that doesn’t make sense. Why can’t you bring a bottle of Deer Park water on the plane?
She may lose her job for showing her SS ID. There are pretty strict rules about when it can be shown and this type of situation is certainly not one of them.
We are not a country of “Good Germans”; God, I hope we never will be, despite TSA and the Bushies best efforts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regarding the hallow outcry of a two tier system. What World, do people blogging here live in?? The TSA is developing exactly that, a two tier passenger prescreening program called Secure Flight. I don’t see the public outcry on that, bunch of hypocrites!!!!
Do the Nimrod here, know the Secret Service has one of the most extensive vetting and screenings that all their people have to go through?? By showing her badge, all she was doing is, communicating; I am not a threat! I’ve already had my whole life extensively pre-screened, I am safe, I even guard the Ass-Hole President.
But NO, to the TSA a baby with sippy cup of water, could be a terrorist plot to blow up the White House. If that doesn’t make you Snippy then I contend your not a Patriotic American!!!!!!!!
Ok, let’s say this lady intentionally dumped a couple of oz of water on the floor. What exactly is the import of that?
OOh it’ a safety hazard, it blemished a highly polished floor, it’s bad manners ….. Let’s not loose sight of a couple of oz of water on the floor is not the end of the civilized world. Maybe a couple of oz of water intentionally dumped on the floor is a capital offense for the TSA and all the Bushies here, but; it’s only a nuisance for normal people.
Are you people normal???????????????????????????????
@5 The only TSA job is covering backs. Saying the TSA were doing their jobs _and_ covering their backs is redundant. TSA’s benefit to airport, airline, or homeland security is contrived by politicians for gullible consumption.
I’m right there with ya, noname. You connected the dots.
Fuck this idiotic “rules are rules” shit. Anyone with a room-temperature IQ can figure out the intent of the rule and act accordingly, instead of like a fucking machine.
Blind, uncritical adherence to the letter of the law while ignoring it’s actual purpose is the eternal hallmark of bureaucrats and morans.
Oops, sorry for the repetitious redundancy.
The premise of “terrorists” being able to easily concoct a liquid bomb has been thoroughly debunked. The task is far from easy.
While not as outrageous as the manure spread in the US regarding the besotted suspects in Miami, the feared Fort Dix pizza delivery plotters or the JFK pipeline Bic flickers, the Brits have somewhat red-faced, but truly contritely admitted their liquid bombers were also all wet.
W and Cheney will be recorded in the annals of time as a histrionic pair who were massively mentally ill-equipped to deal with a genuine threat. While the America removes its shoes, discards mouthwash, and marches along in a faux fantasy of security, the ports are so unguarded the US admits uninspected products by the boatload every day. Unless the extremists are stupid – and 9/11 established al-Qaeda is far from merely backward cave dwellers – expect the next vector to be as close as Wal-Mart.
1. I’m glad I live in Canada
2. Those fat TSA dorks are laughable security
3. I’m glad I live in Canada
4. You’d think a BIG airport like that would have a few illegal aliens on staff to clean up the floor so this poor woman and her child could get on their way.
5. I’m glad I live in Canada
WTFs with the fat cop on a bike? :(0
#20
Fuck this idiotic “rules are rules” shit. Anyone with a room-temperature IQ can figure out the intent of the rule and act accordingly, instead of like a fucking machine.
There you go again. Missing the whole point and being a total jerk in the process. The passenger deliberately poured the water on the floor. She didn’t challenge the regulations until after she exhibited her juvenile behavior. If you don’t recognize yourself there, that is understandable.
So which rules should we do away with? Just the ones that inconvenience you? Or the true silly ones that no one obeys anyway. Sure, get rid of the stupid stop sign at the end of your street that you never stop for anyway. “No smoking – Oxygen” really only applies to other people anyway, get rid of that one too. And the sign that won’t let you ride your bicycle on the sidewalk is pretty stupid, almost as bad as that one where you lost your license after only 22 beers.
You’re the effen selfish moran Lauren. Grow up a little.
14: I am quite sure the British will happily pay some sort of reparation to the US for past imperialism, or, failing that, our Prime Minister will give his heartfelt apology and promise never to do that again. Indeed, there are few people in the UK who aren’t very sorry for our part in the creation of the USA. If we knew then what we know now we were have ceded the whole continent to the French. 😀 😀 😀
As for the security people — from the secret services (there are, according to Wikipedia, 19 different intelligence agencies in the US) to the TSA, I have a lot of sympathy for them. I am sure when they signed up they have visions of battling terrorists, thwarting smugglers and making their country a better place. Instead they are spending their time vetting sippy cups, finger printing tourists, and making people walk barefoot and beltless through the airport.
Yes, she looks like a ruffian hooligan. They should take her, and the kid out back, and beat the shit out of both of them. Bravo, Bush Administration, Bravo!
I’ll say it again, she’s a DRAMA QUEEN, evidently one with a badge. What we have here is one absolute power (secret service drama queen) trying to corrupt another absolute power (the TSA agent), or vice-versa, absolutely!
Oh and to solve the sippy cup conundrum, just down the water stow the cup in carry on and get little Timmy a drink when on the plane. Problem solved no hoot, no holler, no hot under the collar. Thank you send me a dollar.
-#22- On this one, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to crow about where we live. Here is a story that turns the present one on its head:
http://tinyurl.com/2m8obf
I couldn’t find much in the way of followup, so I’ll have to assume that no apology or compensation has been offered to Sandra Turner. A national disgrace.
#22
“sigh” I’m glad I live in Canada to, but get realistic, Canada has just as many anal retentive government workers egged on by the idiotic fear agenda. Fuck we even have our own right wing christian dipshits running the government now.
I would like to nominate the Transportation and Safety Administration and it’s spin doctors for the “You’re Doing A Great Job Brownie” Award presented annually for service above and “way beyond” the call of duty (and common sense) to The Department of Homeland Security functionaries. In the highest tradition of the Department of Homeland Security tradition _________ ___________ did on XX-XX-XXXX secure the homeland from a threat posed by a water filled sippycup of________ _________ 18 mos and his mother__________ ___________. …In addition the above named officers will be nominated for the Medal of Freedom.