chollie

Worth noting: not all of us use a special bag for carry-on air travel. My 'personal item' carry-on is the same bag I carry every single day, and some items are always in the bag, at home or while traveling.

If this gun is always in her bag and it's the same bag she carries all the time, I can see how she 'forgot' it.

This is the second woman to report going through the checkpoint with a gun in her handbag in just a couple of weeks, at a time when TSA is already on alert because Red Team tests are being conducted/have recently been conducted. They're too busy rubbing genitals and challenging breast milk to catch things like guns in unexpected places like handbags.

I can't help but wonder how many people regularly get past the checkpoint, realize they have their firearm on them, and wisely choose to say nothing.

WorldLux

Still. That means that the firearm was not secured before the flight. It's IMO quite unprofessional of someone in LE. They (should) know the risks of misplaced, stolen, and misused guns best. It certainly doesn't reflect good on her.

I think that she deserves a little recognition (especially regarding any potential fine or sentence) for declaring it once she was aware of carrying a firearm. The TSA should definitely get the brunt for failing to detect a firearm. That's a no-go and the people that dropped the ball there shouldn't be working in security screening.

rickg523

Not a rant. Reasoned arguments put well.
^

ShutteLag

|Rant on| It was a Ruger LCP and it was not a revolver.

I thinkg the TSA deserves most of the blame and spanking. For every gun they intercept, there must be a lot more guns that the totally missed. I'm picturing a terrorist laughing his/her pants off right now.

Meanwhile, my extra tube of half-used toothpaste(maybe 1 or 2 ounces remaning) was confiscated and disposed of the other day.

|Rant off|

I think so as well. She deserves whatever the appropriate punishment her action legally deserves. However, I have a lot of respect for someone who stand up and admit his/her honest mistake. That shows she has good character. We are humans and we all make mistakes. Every dog ges one free bite. Assuming it was the first time she made a serious mistake, I think she deserves a break. I do not think she needs to be fired. It's better to keep someone with good moral character on the force.

Premier Owl

Wow, TSA allows a loaded gun through LAX... that's a BIG worry

ShutteLag

I'm starting to think that this is fake news. The story has not been reported by any news media. Zero coverage. Doesn't that seem weird? The *only* people reporting it are the Taiwanese... http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3141087

Boggie Dog

TSA was tested and missed 96% of target items. Why does TSA missing a pistol surprise you?

TWA884

Reuters had an article about it this morning:

ShutteLag

Thanks!

That Reuters report originated from a Taiwanese English-language news....

Guess the TSA must have missed too many guns and knives recently for this to make it to local news in LA. (let alone national news)

At least the officer in question exists and she makes $207,691 per year working for the Santa Monica PD(2015 public data). http://transparentcalifornia.com/sal...noell-p-grant/

:D!

So everything is fake news unless US media reports it??

The article is in Chinese, not Japanese. It doesn't add much to the linked Reuters article, except that the American Institute in Taiwan is providing consular and legal assistance.

WillCAD

When you have either a child or a firearm, and especially when you have both, it is your iron-clad responsibility to *always know where they are at ALL times, 100%, without fail*.

Being that careless with a firearm, even if you don't have a child in your household, is criminally stupid, but being that careless with a firearm when you have a small child in the house endangers that child to the point that I believe you should have your right to keep and bear arms permanently stripped away from you.

In this particular case, since this woman was a police officer, I believe she should be fired and permanently banned from ever holding a LEO position anywhere in the United States. The level of carelessness and stupidity required to 'forget' where your firearm is, and to not notice that the small bag you're wearing around your waist has the weight of a pistol in it (in the photos on the Taiwanese page, the bag is shown as a type of waist bag), is staggering. No person with that level of carelessness and stupidity regarding firearms should be allowed to possess one, let alone hold a job where they are required to be proficient in their use and carry one.

I have no sympathy for people like this. None. They are a black eye on the face of every responsible gun owner in the US.

ShutteLag

especially not when the Santa Monica Police Dept pays her over $200,000 per year in salary... one would think(hope) that they train their officers better than her.

on the other hand, most TSA employees working airports make around $32,500 per year(probably more in LA area), so I guess it's only natural that they miss loaded guns in the X-ray machine?

chollie

Hey, they might miss guns that are in a handbag (they have done so twice recently - that we know of) - but I bet they never miss a gun 'artfully concealed' in someone's genitals.

ShutteLag

wouldn't that set off the metal detectors? or is it one of those all-polymer+carbon fiber guns that contain almost no metal?

TWA884

Discussion of police salaries and benefit packages are off topic for the Travel Safety/Security forums and belong in OMNI (access to the OMNI forums is limited to members who have been on FlyerTalk for 180 days and have posted 180 messages).

Future off-topic remarks will be deleted without further warnings.

Thank you for understanding,

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator