Originally Posted by
Trollkiller
So now you want them to be counselors? It is perfectly acceptable to ask a child why they are crying, even if you are wearing a faux police uniform.
The OP stated the child was kept in line of sight with the mother. The mother could have regained total control of the child at any time.
The TSOs did the right thing by checking on the welfare of the child before escalating it to a LEO. The child was fine but sad. The child and mother were allowed to continue on their trip without further delay.
The OP should be grateful that someone cared enough to check on the welfare of the sister.
No where in the OP's story did they state the TSOs were rude, overbearing, abusive or licking their lips in hopes of the big catch.
The TSOs simply took the girl to the side so she would feel safe if there was a problem. They asked her why she was crying and when they found out the reason was minor, they sent the girl on the way.
I hope if my 12 year old daughter is crying at the airport that someone has the guts to find out why. I would hate to hear "we saw her crying but we did not want to interfere" in response to the question of "how did the kidnap victim get past you?"
The biggest problem is for me, that she wasn't making a scene by refusing to go nor was she throwing a temper tantrum. She was simply crying.
If I'm the TSO who believes something is amiss, then I notify my supervisor or a LEO. Let them handle it. Maybe the police simply trail my mother and sister and see if there is reason to be alarmed. Perhaps they, as someone else mentioned, make a small talk comment about her being sad. That's what police officers are trained for.
But when one TSO decides to make a scene and then calls a few of their colleagues over to only heighten the embarrassment, I think was totally unnecessary.
I called my Mom to have her clarify what happened and she said that the TSO's were indignant and she felt like she'd done something wrong because they pulled her aside and "made a scene".