What Do You Think?

[Jojoking]

The real story here is not about the ladies getting an apology from the TSA but rather that that TSA and homeland security statements can not be trusted.

The agency originally stated that it did nothing wrong yet in this short article there are how many policy violations listed? If the agency was really looking out for our best interest it would not try to cover up the violations to begin with and correct problems rather than allowing the B.S. to continue.

All this sort of makes a person wonder how "voluntarily" the removal of the lady's pants really was. Yes perhaps she took them off herself, but the agents probably would not release her if she did not. Basically you can "volunteer" to do this or you can not leave.

As for not being "strip-searched", the procedure probably technically might not not be official called/titled a "strip-search" but when agents are having people remove their cloths to inspect medical braces and devices, leaving the people with little choice but to remove their cloths or stay in detention it seems to me to be fairly close to what I would call a strip-search.

copied from:
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/18/10181633-tsa-apologizes-to-elderly-women-searched-at-jfk


TSA apologizes to elderly women searched at JFK

By NBC New York

After insisting its agents acted appropriately in searches of two elderly women at John F. Kennedy Airport, the Transportation Security Administration now admits that screeners violated procedure.

Lenore Zimmerman, 85, and Ruth Sherman, 89, complained they were humiliated by what they perceived to be illicit strip-searches at the airport.

Zimmerman said she was taken to a private room and made to take off her pants and other clothes after she asked to forgo the screening because she worried it would interfere with her defibrillator. Sherman had said she was forced to pull down her pants so screeners could see her colostomy bag.

In a letter obtained by the Daily News, Homeland Security officials acknowledge that both women were searched in violation of TSA policy.

“It is not standard operating procedure for colostomy devices to be visually inspected, and [the Transportation Security Administration] apologizes for this employee’s action,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Betsy Markey wrote in the letter to state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens).

Markey did insist, however, that Sherman voluntarily pulled her pants down. She also wrote in the letter that Zimmerman had not been strip-searched, but that scanning her back brace constituted a policy violation and apologized.

Both women, still fuming about their perceived indignities, told the News the federal letter did not accurately describe their full experiences.

[Jojoking]

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/11/9369886-strip-search-claims-prompt-call-for-advocate-at-us-airports

strip search claims prompt call for advocate at us airports

By msnbc.com news services

2011/12/11


Two New York lawmakers on Sunday urged the Transportation Security Administration to provide passenger advocates at airports during security screenings.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and state Sen. Michael Gianaris, both Democrats, told Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole in a letter that an on-site passenger advocate would help strike the right balance between security and protecting vulnerable travelers.

"I appreciate the TSA's work to keep air passengers safe, but passengers should not be humiliated and degraded during their travels," Gianaris said in a statement accompanying the letter.

The proposal follows recent claims that elderly women were strip searched by security officials at Kennedy Airport, which the TSA denies, saying it doesn't conduct strip searches.

"TSA does not, and has never, conducted strip searches and no strip searches occurred in any of these incidents," the agency wrote Sunday on its blog.

Schumer and Gianaris want a member of the screening crew to be trained as a passenger advocate who could intervene as problems arose. They also asked for an investigation into the women's complaints, which were detailed in the letter.

In one case, Lenore Zimmerman, 85, of Long Beach, N.Y., said TSA agents took her into a private room in late November to remove her back brace for screening after she decided against going through a scanning machine because of her heart defibrillator.

"Zimmerman said she had to raise her blouse and remove her undergarments for a female TSA agent," according to the lawmakers' letter.

The TSA stated that a misunderstanding led to the removal of the woman's back brace, which was mistaken as a money belt. Refresher courses are planned for JFK employees, the TSA stated.

In another recent incident, Ruth Sherman, 88, of Sunrise, Fla., was asked about a visible protrusion from her waist band, which she identified as her colostomy bag.

She was "escorted to another room where two female agents made her lower her pants for an inspection. Sherman raised concerns that the agents would disrupt her colostomy bag, causing pain and potential damage," the letter said.

A third woman, Linda Kallish, of Boynton, Fla., said that after she revealed she was a diabetic with an insulin pump in her leg, she was escorted to a separate room where she was told to remove her pants so the agents could check the pump, the letter said, without saying when that incident took place.

"We truly regret these passengers feel they had a bad screening experience," the TSA said on its website. "Our goal is to provide the highest level of security while ensuring that all passengers are treated with dignity and respect."

The TSA said it in the process of establishing an 800 number dedicated to travelers with disabilities, medical conditions, or those who may require assistance during screening.

"Passengers will be able to call this number prior to flying to get guidance and information about screening, based on their needs," according to the TSA. "Additionally, TSA regularly trains its workforce on how to screen travelers with disabilities or medical conditions and has customer service managers on hand at airports to answer questions and assist passengers."

Under the Schumer-Gianaris proposal, an advocate could be summoned in person by passengers if they feel they were inappropriately searched.

"While the safety and security of our flights must be a top priority, we need to make sure that flying does not become a fear-inducing, degrading, and potentially humiliating experience," Schumer said.