Yaatri

First of hats off to you. I would like to shake your hand. ^ ^ ^

Now to your questions.

I think you shouldn't have to give your adress or any kind of ID. I am not a lawyer. However, if the police can make a case, that there was a basis for further investigation, I don't know what that basis would be, you probably are obligated to show your ID.

The reason for filing a report has been cited by the TSA as a reason for asking for your ID and all.

I had an experience at that ended with the NW station manager telling me that I had to co-operate. I was told I had to show my ID as they had to file a incident report. It all started when I walked through the metal detector with our passports in my shirt pocket. I was pulled aside for a secondary screening. I asked if they can pull me over even if I did not sound an alarm. I said that was stupid. from then on it turned into a power trip. The guy wanted me to hand him our passports ( my wife and kids were with me). I refused as we had already gone through immigration and customs and were going to make a connection with a domestic flight. I told him I would in no way hand him our passports. He wanted to put them through the X-ray machine. I was willing to put them in my wife's pocket book and have the pocket book go through the X-ray, but I was not about to hand our passport over to TSA for any reason, as the ID checker had already checked our IDs. He was pissed and asked me "why do you have so many passports in your pocket anyway ?" I felt like saying are you so stupid that you don't know one passport is needed for each person?", but I bit my tongue. ANother TSA employee thought it was ok to put the passports in my wife's pocketbook to be x-rayed. You can imagine the first TSA guy was pissed. He gave me a thorough secondary screening. I asked for a complain form. They handed me the form. As I was walking away, almost as a second thought they asked me for an ID. I refused to show my ID again. AT that point the TSA guy snatched the complaint form my hand. I was surrounded and was not allowed to leave. The police and the NW staiton manager was called. TSA guy was telling me they were going to recommend to NW that I was considered unsafe and that I not be allowed on their flight. The NW station manager told me it would be better form me to co-operate by answering a couple of questions. I stopped after a couple of questions, i.e. after giving my name and date of birth. The NW station manager urged me to answer more questions. I also gave my address at that point. The police officer looked at my ID and wrote information down. It all took about half an hour or so.

IN the mean time the facility TSA manager came to talk to me. He realised it was basically power play on part of the TSA guys. The Manager was of micronesian origin. He told me that sometimes when he has to intervene, the pax say "we want to talk to an American" : The Manager told me he was going to send the offending TSA guy for more training, which according to him was negative.

Later on the NW station manager and I talked in the lounge. She said to me laughingly, "You have got to pick your battles" She knew exactly what was going on as her husband was Egyptian. I am a South Asian with a beard.

ABout half an hour after I had been in the WC, I went out to get my kids a burger, the same cop was standing outside the WC. I told him "You had better not be following me around". He made a sheepish comment that he wasn't and left.

BAsicaly you pissed the TSA community off as I had by calling them stupid.

I would like to have answer to your questions too.