cynicAAl

I love it. I'm adding this line to my standard "TSA: Security Theater" script.

sba110

First thing I do of course is ask for an opt-out.

The extremely juvenile and obviously not exactly very smart TSO (think of a high school bully) didn't take that well. He told me that it would be a while. I told him that I had a right to a speedy screening and that I would call the police if they didn't start screening me within 5 minutes. He really didn't take that well. Anyways, after 2-3 minutes I was waved through and my luggage was picked up from the belt. In the meantime, the verbal assault continued. I asked for a supervisor. He said no "because I don't have to". I then reiterated my request for the police. Again, no. At this point, I was seriously considering getting my cell phone (which he said he wouldn't let me, but of course he couldn't prevent me from getting it) and calling for help myself. He also claimed to be a "sworn officer", which of course he isn't.

Anyways, after a few minutes of back and forth he decides to call the assistant FSD. Excellent, Finally someone slightly more reasonable. The aFSD tells me he will observe, but I once again tell him that now I most certainly wouldn't let them pat me down unless the police was in attendance. The FSD called PD, which showed up a few minutes later. They were SO nice; it's truly unbelievable. They must be sick of the TSA. The first thing the lead officer did was pull me aside and ask me what was going on - without the TSA present. A great touch. I explained it to her, and that I wanted her to observe because I feel threatened by the TSO. She said she was happy to do that for me. After a fairly standard pat down, the TSO left to check his gloves. PD told me to get my things in the meantime, much to the dismay of the TSO. I told the officers that the TSO had claimed to be a sworn officer, and if that didn't border on illegality. They were quite sympathetic to this.

After I left, the female officer stopped me and talked with me a bit about how she was trying to not let the situation escalate and how she would have done the same as I in this situation. She really was very caring and human. Excellent job SFO PD!!

EyeWingsuit

Be cautious about how you respond when this happens.
ONT, three months ago, I watched as other bags pushed my tray off the end of the belt, while waiting in 'the pen.' I yelled at the TSO outside the pen for not getting my things.
I pulled out my cell to shoot pictures of my things on the ground. I was "detained for raising my voice" and so I asked to see a sheriff. I was also informed that "taking a photo in the secure area is a crime. (it's not).
I missed my flight.

ONT and LAX are operated by the same org, and both have retaliation policies in place.
SNA-much better theatre for the security show.

sba110

Now your rights people. The TSA has no power of detention. If you just leave the box, all they can do is call the police. They cannot touch you.

chollie

Functionally, you don't have very few 'rights', and they are dependent on the whim of TSA and the police.

Example: Phil Mocek.

TSA supposedly has no power of detention, but if you are surrounded or blocked physically by TSOs in your path, you have no options. If you come in physical contact with a TSO trying to block your path, you will almost certainly immediately be arrested for assault.

Ron Paul was directed to stand in a clear glass/plastic cage by TSA; so was Stacy Armato. Both were clearly 'detained' in any reasonable sense of the word. Senator Paul did use the word 'detained' - and I might point out, even being a US Senator did not prevent his 'detention' or lead to any change in TSA's policies.

Many airport police take directions from TSOs or even escalate TSO-initiated confrontations, and the police most certainly can detain you. Some take direction from TSOs because they can't be bothered to think for themselves, some delight in escalating situations, probably out of boredom. I'm sure that most police departments don't assign their 'best and brightest' to airport duty.

zitsky

Thank you for reminding me that there are two sides to every story. Was it necessary to jump right away into confrontation mode?

Yoshi212

Does anyone have a link to a statement to the right to speedy screening? Just want to be able to reference it if the situation arises.

Also you should write in to the Officer's supervisor and commend her for her behavior and actions.

It does sound like you walked in ready for the confrontation but that might not be true or it could be true.

ESpen36

Just so you know, TSA does not conduct passenger screening at SFO. It is a third-party contractor operating on behalf of TSA. The uniforms look similar to TSA, but the officers are not government employees.

sba110

Yes, under the circumstances, it was. I've opted out many times, and rarely have had a problem. We need to keep in mind that we're not dealing with a polite, customer-oriented organization here. As soon as I said that I was opting out, a TSO "ordered" me with a stern voice to "wait over there". Then he said (and this was clearly in retaliation) that it would take a long time as nobody as available. A lie, since 30 seconds later, someone was available, but only after I had made sure they knew that I wasn't intimidated by them. The police also thought this was retaliation. This is the same officer that later said that he was a "sworn officer" and had a police badge. That's hugely abusive and possibly illegal (impersonating an officer). The police thought so too.

Then I said that I had a right to a speedy screening. Know what he said? "No, you do not". Then I asked for his supervisor - all in a perfectly polite tone. He said that he wasn't going to call him since he didn't have to. Where in this line of events do you think it's reasonable to just acquiesce? This is the point where I said that I was calling the police in 5 minutes since I felt threatened by their behavior. Perfectly reasonable I think.

CDTraveler

This is why I believe that as bad as the TSA is, it is better than the contract screeners at SFO. That used it be my home airport, and there is nothing bad about them that you could say that I would not believe. I've had one screener walk off with one of my bags while two of her cohorts stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me to block my view, I've encountered ones that pretend they don't speak English, pat downs that left bruises and more.

BTW you can complain to the SFO screener's boss from now until eternity and that will do nothing but waste your time. They've got the government contract, your opinion isn't relevant to them.

sba110

Agreed. Which is why I didn't bother. It's not going to change anything.

I have found that getting the police involved is the best way to at least get a speedy screening. It won't change the underlying issues, but the TSO shut up quickly when the cops show up. It's sad that you need to call the police to force the TSOs to do their job.

While I have had quite a few negative experiences with the TSA, I've had only positive ones with the airport police. My advice is to get them involved at the first sign of impropriety.

And just FYI - the female officer was amazingly nice. She basically shielded me from the TSA. Sort of like an attorney would do. She was clearly very depressed about what was happening. She even agreed - within earshot of the TSA - that claiming to be a sworn officer could amount to impersonation.

golfguy714

With the TSA or their contract brothers yes it is necessary to jump straight into confrontation mode! How many years have them been screening pax? You would think that they would have this down by now.

CDTraveler

It wasn't the TSA you were dealing with at SFO.

chollie

The private contractors at SFO do, however, operate under the watchful oversight of the TSA, according to TSA standards - in fact, there have been reports that TSA demands higher standards (ie, more pax hassles) from private contractors.

So any lapses or stupidity on the part of the SFO private contractor are ultimately the responsibility of TSA's (faulty) oversight.

CDTraveler

"watchful oversight?" Are you kidding? Have you been through SFO security lately?

Definitely the funniest post on FT today!

Makes as much sense as saying Bush was personally responsible for the crimes commited in Iraq by Blackwater.

Oh, by the way, the type of conduct commonly displayed by the SFO screeners predates the TSA by at least a decade to my personal knowlege, and possibly even longer.