Originally Posted by
cbn42
Since this is probably not a very common incident, I highly doubt that security guards would have received any specific training on this. My guess is that you could probably get into the building without answering this question, if you were willing to escalate the matter to a supervisor a level or two higher and stand your ground and wait while they tried to consult their legal counsel and figure out how to handle the situation.
In other words, it would be exactly like refusing to answer questions at customs. They will give you a hard time, call in a few supervisors, try to wear you down by making you wait, but eventually let you through.
Wrong.
This is a common occurrence. I have seen it happen many times. The screeners and the deputies overseeing them are well trained to handle such situations.
Sometimes when people forget items in their pockets, they are asked to completely empty their pockets, place all items through the x-ray machine and walk through the metal detector again. At other times, they will be wanded with a hand held metal detector and asked to show the object. The individual will not be allowed to enter the building without the object either being shown or x-rayed.
Concerning the coke bottle and the nail file hypothetical, as I wrote in my earlier post, glass bottles and objects such as metal nail files are not permitted to be brought into most Los Angeles County courthouses.