TSA Uses Web to Counter Mother's Allegation of Improper Detention

By Del Quentin Wilber and Cindy Loose
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 16, 2007; D01

Federal security officials took the unusual step yesterday of posting an incident report and security camera footage on their Web site to counter allegations that screeners and police officers at Reagan National Airport mistreated a mother and her toddler this week. At issue is whether Monica Emmerson, a former Secret Service officer and District resident, was improperly detained when she spilled water out of her child's sippy cup.

The story emerged Thursday morning and spread quickly on the Internet yesterday, as bloggers expressed outrage at the alleged treatment of the woman. The first blogger to pick up Emmerson's tale was Bill Adler, a District author who said he usually blogs only about issues in his Cleveland Park neighborhood. He was alerted to the airport saga by his wife, who spotted a note Emmerson wrote on a local e-mail mass mailing for parents ( http://www.dcurbanmoms.com).

Adler said he thought the story was interesting, so he contacted Emmerson and interviewed her.