I'm in YYZ, taking a flight to europe. saw a guy in the security line in front of me. He slipped a shoeshine bottle into his back pocket, walked thru the metal detector, and then put it back in his backpack. smooth.

I freaked a bit and snitched on him - i.e. I pointed him and his shoeshine bottle out to the security guys manning the checkpoint. They just looked at it from afar and said it's ok, no worries. the guy noticed that i'd pointed this out and said ok good job or smth else to me. I said it's nothing personal. I hope he's not sitting next to me on the flight, that'll be awkward.

I feel bad, cuz I didn't want to get him in trouble on the one hand. But on the other hand, this did look a bit suspicious to me. I guess he was just trying to get the shoeshine through security even though it looked like it was over 100ml.

I also feel weird cuz I don't even agree with the 100ml limit and a bunch of other security theater we are put through. Yet here I am snitching on this most likely completely harmless guy.......

What do you guys think? Was this the right thing to do?

Right in one sense and wrong in another. Are you afraid he would attempt to polish your shoes while in flight? Haven't heard of too many terrorist shoe shiners out there. What did you hope to accomplish by reporting him to TSA?

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.5.0.138 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Here in the US, there is a law that provides lawsuit immunity for any brave citizen "ratting out" anyone at anytime for any reason. Remember: "If you see something, say something." You could even make a sport out of it.

Thank goodness you weren't behind me a couple of months ago when I slipped a large plastic tube of toothpaste in my back pocket and walked through the WTMD to avoid having it confiscated.

If you had, my plans at world conquest via sparkling teeth, healthy gingiva, and minty fresh breath would have been thwarted.

Just be very careful of your own behavior. You are a watcher, but you can also be watched. Someone else may see you do something 'suspicious' and turn you in.

I will have done the same thing, you never know what is in the bottle... on that note I have no idea what TSA really looks for, more than once I have forgotten about my cigar cutter in my computer bag and it has never been an issue.

Cigar cutters can be dangerous. If I see you take one out of your bag inside the sterile area, I probably will have to say something to security. You should check dangerous things like that, I don't know what you are going to use it for. You can't smoke on the plane, so why are you carrying it?

I just forgot a few times that it was there, since it was a gift I wasn't going to throw it away; but don't worry I usually carry it on my checked bagagge

No; you should have minded your own business.

Just my opinion.

^

Anything for security!? Just play along with them! Turn in your neighbors to the SS(or whatever name you want to give the gov. entity) if they seem strange or foreign(multiple meanings). Hmph!

Nothing personal of course, but since you asked I must say that this is exactly the type of behaviour that I despise. It really, really gets my goat.

^
Would you have turned him into security at the mall?
At a restaurant?
Walking down the street?

It wasn't a Freaking GUN!
What were you thinking?

True, it could have been pretty much anything in the world! Except liquid explosive, of course.

Especially as I often see CATSA exercise common sense by removing items of more than 100ml, swabbing them, and returning them back to the passenger to take on to the flight.

He probably doesn't want it stolen by the TSA bag-tossers downstairs. A good cigar cutter can be pricy.