Good News: TSA Defends Enhanced Pat Down Of Terrified 4 Year Old

After all the issues the other year with the TSA, it’s amazing that these kinds of incidents continue to happen

(AP) – The grandmother of a 4-year-old girl who became hysterical during a security screening at a Kansas airport said Wednesday that the child was forced to undergo a pat-down after hugging her, with security agents yelling and calling the crying girl an uncooperative suspect.

The incident has been garnering increasing media and online attention since the child’s mother, Michelle Brademeyer of Montana, detailed the ordeal in a public Facebook post last week. The Transportation Security Administration is defending its agents, despite new procedures aimed at reducing pat-downs of children.

The child’s grandmother, Lori Croft, told The Associated Press that Brademeyer and her daughter, Isabella, initially passed through security at the Wichita airport without incident. The girl then ran over to briefly hug Croft, who was awaiting a pat-down after tripping the alarm, and that’s when TSA agents insisted the girl undergo a physical pat-down.

The child was screaming and terrified, having no clue what was occurring. Yet, the TSA continued on, and was abusive towards the parents and grandmother, telling them that the TSA would shut down the airport unless they grabbed the child. The parents were told they couldn’t comfort the child initially, up to the point that this hysterical child was allowed to be patted down while in the arms of her mother.

Here’s where the TSA goes further off the rails

The TSA released a statement Tuesday saying it explained to the family why additional security procedures were necessary and that agents didn’t suspect or suggest the child was carrying a firearm.

“TSA has reviewed the incident and determined that our officers followed proper screening procedures in conducting a modified pat-down on the child,” the agency said.

So, the agents didn’t suspect the child was carrying a firearm? So, why completely freak out a 4 year old? The TSA’s Blogger Bob explains

TSA has long had a security procedure where if somebody has contact with a person who is undergoing additional screening, they must also undergo additional screening. Why you might ask? You’ve probably heard the old saying that the hand can be faster than eye? Well… that’s the reasoning behind this procedure. There’s always the chance that a prohibited item could be traded off during contact. I’m sure you’ve watched the scene play out in more than one movie where two people collide or shake hands and an item is traded off? Same thing…

So, what did they think a 4 year old was involved in? Sounds more like the TSA acting like tin-pot dictators.

From the comments

  • You continuously confuse the statement “our policy mandates it” with the statement that “it was necessary.” Those of us who have more than two working brain cells can see that this was not necessary in any sense.
  • Perhaps making the video available to corroborate your story is in order.
  • Conspicuously absent in your explanation, Bob, is how your officers treated the child, screaming at her and refusing to allow her mother to comfort her. Is that part of your standard procedure? Because if it is, there’s absolutely no way I will ever fly with my preschool aged daughter.

Lest you think this is the only TSA issue of late, we also have the TSA causing a family to miss a flight because the TSA singled out a 7 year old. Who has cerebral palsy. And crutches and walking braces. Who is developmentally challenged.

More: via The Classic Conservative, we get our first glimpse of this brazen terrorist wannabe

Don’t be fooled by that darling little princess outfit, she’s probably hiding several My Little Pony’s filled with Semtex in her dress and a garote in her headband.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

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