TSA BDOs finally get something right
 

I suspect that Blogger Bob will be touting the success of the BDO program in the very near future.

http://overheadbin.nbcnews.com/_news...i-airport?lite

I think anyone without the 40 hours or 2 weeks of BDO training could have made the same determination.

Like anyone with a pulse.

Which does make you wonder why no one stepped up to help her.

So wait, this woman had the snot visibly beaten out of her, was concealing her face, and she looked afraid? I may not have the 8 hours of intense government training that a TSO gets, but I'm pretty sure anyone with two functioning brain cells could have figured out that something was not right here. The only plus I see to the TSA's involvement was that the victim was probably carted off into a "private screening room" by herself, rather than being questioned right in front of her assailants.

^

Good for them.

Mike

Yeah, I'm not going to be too hard on TSA for this one. They did what they were supposed to do - what anyone should do when they encounter someone who looks like they've been beaten and are under duress - they asked, "Are you all right, ma'am? Can we help you?"

I'm not going to even acknowledge the ridiculous idea that noticing such a person is possible only because of BDO training.

I will note that, according to the article, the victim had a head covering on to disguise the fresh bruises on her face. But such head coverings must be removed during screening, so EVERYONE was going to see those bruises anyway.

Frankly, I see this one as being more the product of monumentally stupid criminals than anything else. First, commit multiple felonies. Then, cover your victim's injurries with a scarf, and take her to an airport full of security screeners, cops, and surveilence cameras, where she will be screened, examined, and perhaps questioned prior to boarding the flight, during which time she will be required by law to remove the lame-o "disguise" you've put on her.

As Doctor Evil is fond of saying, "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig ht..."

Next up: Bank robber attempts to evade police by running to police station and hiding under detective's desk while wearing Groucho nose.

It is sad but true. That a lot of people dont want to get involved in somebody elses "buisness".

To those people I can only say "what if it is you and /or your family/friends.

The TSA has never been afraid to get all up in my business.

I am happy that the woman was rescued.


On the other hand: are not the training is about recognizing/picking the bad guys? Did they notice that the men behave suspiciously?

TSA likes to get all up in travellers "buisness".

I was more thinking about people in general. Not TSA. I dont consider them "people".

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Good one.

Not sure how reaching out to a kidnap victim indicates they have mad skills at spotting behavior that indicates someone is about to take down a plane, but gotta give credit where credit is due. They saw something they thought was hinky and they did something. Good on 'em.

I hope the victim is recovering well. No one deserves what happened to her. NO ONE.

I, too, am pleased that she was rescued.

However, there is a little gremlin in the back of my mind that is itching to say something.

We quite often on this board criticize the TSA for going beyond their charge of finding WEI. Some of us complain when they find bit of marijuana and call an LEO. Or we say that it is none of their business to report a large amount of cash even though this may be a sign of some criminal activity.

Does the fact that we would have done the same thing make it different? Is it because they did it, not as government actors, but as concerned citizens make it different?

This was clearly outside the bounds of the things for which they are looking. Do we really want them to be all proud of this accomplishment so that they will report every suspicious activity, like taking pictures in the airport, having consecutive checks in ones wallet, and having photographs they deem pornographic that they find by accident?

I have told my gremlin to shut up now.

DON'T CREDIT the BDOs for this one!

Read the article:

http://overheadbin.nbcnews.com/_news...i-airport?lite

It says:

The BDOs didn't detect this. The alleged victim TOLD the TSA that something was amiss, according to the TSA.

And one more thing:

That's right! The alleged kidnappers were bonded and released. So a judge didn't think they were all that dangerous.

This wasn't a random kidnapping. The alleged kidnappers were members of a group of people she had gone on vacation with:

So this may turn out to be a he-said she-said case involving an adulteress or infidelity. Certainly nobody deserves a beating, but who the hell knows what happened here. The judge let them out on bail. I have a feeling when we hear the facts from parties other than the TSA, the story may be different.

She somehow indicated that she needed help. If someone reaches out to you in that situation, my feeling is that you can respond -- police officer, mall cop, TSA screener, concerned citizen, whoever you are. If she had said "I'm fine. I'm recovering from a facelift," they should have gone no further.

I get where you're going, but this isn't anything at all like probing someone's purse to see if they are carrying too much money onto a plane. I'm not interested in swatting their hands for this at all.

I missed that in the original story. My gremlin says it makes a difference. However, there is still this:

I can be a BDO if people will tell me they are in trouble and point out the perpetrator.