The fact that you don't seem to understand why a person might wish to maintain close proximity and visual contact with THEIR OWN BELONGINGS is a real problem, SgtScott. Or is it that you just don't CARE? Either is unacceptable in a public servant, though the former might just be due to ignorance and could potentially be correctable.
I would expect any reasonable person to want to maintain a close proximity or visual contact with their belongings. TSA also knows this when they bring someone aside for secondary screening. I'm not sure about the setup at this airport, but where I work, the table is off to the side and the person is taken to this area WITH THEIR BELONGINGS. Could this not possibly be a situation where she wanted to go through her belongings before the TSA could possibly even get her to the secondary area? Could it be that she refused the secondary screening and told them to p*ss off? Both are strong possibilities. Why? because normally people that try to be helpful with TSA do not end up where she did (i.e. being arrested). Several on here have mentioned how they attempt to help TSA or grab their belongings before they realize they are not supposed to. That's never been an issue. The TSO's I've seen simply remind them that they are not to touch their belongings until the secondary process is complete. Now given, I'm not in the Terminal every day, nor at the checkpoint the full 8hrs I'm on shift, but I have never been called to the checkpoint for those who instinctively touch their belongings when they were not supposed to.
Anyone in a public capacity who has problems with a non-criminal (say, for example, a member of the flying public) maintaining a CLOSE watch over someone who's examining their belongings needs to find themselves another job where they aren't required to interact with the public.
The only problem I am going to have are with those who make a conscious decision to enter the security checkpoint and refuse to follow the rules, become loud and belligerent, and resist law enforcement when they are told they are being arrested. If you have a problem with someone going through your belongings, then I would not expect you to come through the security checkpoint with any baggage, because 99.9% of the traveling public know that there is a high probability someone is going to go through their luggage during the screening process. The same 99.9% know that secondary screening occurs and you may not go through your luggage until the secondary is complete.
Do you deny that TSA has a serious problem, both in public perception AND IN FACT, with those particular issues (among others)? Both charges have been documented repeatedly, and any "bad press" or ill-will the TSA as an organization has to deal with as a result leaves me, at least, somewhat less than concerned for their delicate sensibilities. Perhaps if they could keep their own house in order, they might not be facing QUITE so much resistance.
I do not deny that they have their own problems internally (aside from policies the public despise), but they are not any different than airline personnel stealing from luggage, department store employees taking merchandise and/or money, and LEOs who lie about a case and/or evidence. They are isolated incidents that definitely hurt the rest of the honest ones in the eyes of the public, but I see much more bashing on the TSA than other organizations with similar issues. Point is, if she was worried about theft and wanted to be closer to her luggage, there was definitely a more civilized way to handle it. As I have stated, my assumptions about what occurred are simply those, ASSUMPTIONS. But from being in this line of work for several years and observing checkpoint operations and the passengers that come through them, given what little video is available, I have advised my best guess as to what occurred. If she would not follow instructions from TSOs and LEOs regarding her bags, then she would physically be kept from them. If she resists, she is going to end up arrested.