The cop seems like a typical, mildly-educated officer following his training and cop instinct by the book. This mentality gets it backward, of course: police exist to protect the citizens, not the machinery of the state.

Apologies if this has already been covered, but I don't have the bandwith to read the entire thread right now. One of the more recent comments on the YouTube video:

"No you're correct about the rules,the airport is a private business and they can set what ever rules they please. Hell you agree when you walk into an airport to give up your constitutional rights!!" (emphasis mine)

I am sorely tempted to walk away from the disgrace this country is becoming, in part because that disgrace extends beyond the halls of power in Washington. Comments like this - far beyond idiotic or short-sighted - indicate to me that a police state is inevitable, and the comrades of the United States deserve exactly the form of government they allow.

Gee, I'm already speaking in the third person there.