Boy Forced to Remove Braces by TSA

Yes, the TSA is supposed to keep us -- and the skies -- safe, but this is ridiculous. Do you have any TSA horror stories? Please email me directly at: afteramerica@gmail.com

The 4-year-old son of a New Jersey police officer was told he could not pass through security at the airport unless he removed his metal leg braces. The family was on their way to Walt Disney World in Orlando to celebrate the boy's fourth birthday. His dad, Bob Thomas, says son Ryan is developmentally delayed and wears the braces because his ankles are malformed and his legs have low muscle tone -- effects of his premature 

birth

 sixteen weeks early. Ryan was just starting to walk when this happened.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Daniel Rubin, the Thomas family arrived several hours before their flight. Mr. Thomas pushed Ryan's stroller to the TSA checkpoint and put it on the conveyor belt. Thomas' wife, Leona, walked Ryan through the metal detector, setting off the alarm. Thomas then says the TSA worker told them to take off Ryan's plastic-and-metal braces. "I told them he can't walk without them on his own," Thomas said. "[The TSA agent] said, 'He'll need to take them off.' "

Leona asked if she could walk her son through the detector after the braces were removed. That request was denied. She was told the boy had to walk on his own.

The family followed instructions, and Ryan made it through the detector. But his parents were furious. Bob demanded to speak with a supervisor, telling the official, "This is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist.' " The supervisor replied, "You know why we're doing this." A cop himself, Thomas complained to the airport manager -- and then went to the press. "This was just stupid," he said.

Now the TSA has apologized to the Thomas family. A TSA spokesperson said the little boy should not have had to remove his braces, and acknowledged that there are other ways to screen those with disabilities. TSA policy allows for those with special needs -- such as braces -- to be taken to a private area and be screened there.

Yes, the TSA is supposed to keep us -- and the skies -- safe, but this is ridiculous. Do you have any TSA horror stories? Please email me directly at: afteramerica@gmail.com

Bladder cancer survivor left covered in Urine

Thomas Sawyer, a 61-year-old survivor of bladder cancer, was humiliated beyond belief when he tried to board his flight at Detroit International 

earlier this month. He is unfortunate enough to require the use of a urostomy bag, which must have shown up on the scanner. He was pulled aside for the TSA’s new “enhanced” pat-down, at which point he tried to tell the screeners about his condition and the apparatus. They cut him off, saying that they didn’t need to know about his issues. His pants, which were sized larger to make it easier for him to wear the bag, fell down around his ankles since they had made him take off his belt to walk through the detectors the first time around. He had to ask twice before they would allow him to pull them up. They then made him take his sweatshirt off, at which point he again told them about the delicate bag of urine that was under his clothing — but they didn’t listen. A screener ruptured the bag with his hand, causing it to begin dribbling and spilling Mr. Sawyer’s own urine down his shirt, groin and pants. Sawyer was reduced to tears as he was forced to make his way through the terminal and onto the plane before he could clean himself up and change clothes.



Woman Forced to remove nipple ring with pliers

http://clipsyndicate.com/video/playlist/8178/554332

Mandi Hamlin was trying to pass through a security gate at an airport in Lubbock, Texas back in 2008, when she was stopped by a female screener with a hand-held metal detector. Though Mandi had no trouble passing through the larger metal detector, the screener’s wand unit chimed when passing over her breasts — where she had nipple-piercings. Instead of handling the small issue on her own, the female screener called over several of her male counterparts, who then insisted that Mandi remove her nipple rings. Mandi asked if she could simply show them to the female screener in private, but was refused the option. Flustered, she managed to get one piercing out (it was bar-shaped), but she couldn’t get the other, which was ring-shaped. She said she wouldn’t be successful without pliers, and pled again for the female to simply examine her. They gave her pliers. Crying, she worked the ring loose and removed it, but she could hear the male screeners giggling and joking about it on the other side of the curtain that acted as her only means of privacy. She was then allowed to proceed — never being asked about the belly-button ring she was also wearing at the time. The flight wasn’t even international, in fact she wasn’t even leaving the state; it was a hopper to Dallas.



Meg was singled out, cuffed and boarding pass destroyed

Meg McLain recently experienced just what happens when one decides to opt-out of the x-ray scan, and object to the groping-laden pat-down that follows such an opt-out. She was surrounded by TSA screeners and airport police, shuffled off-camera in the inspection area to be harassed, and finally forced to sit in a chair and watch as an egomaniacal TSA screener ripped her ticket in half right in front of her before having security grab her and escort her out of the airport. She was unable to get a refund for the flight, and even worse, found herself stranded since the boarding pass itself had been destroyed (and the airline would not replace it).



Read more: http://www.momlogic.com/2010/02/little_boy_forced_to_remove_leg_braces_by_tsa.php#ixzz17Sfc7zR3