DCA TSO misconduct with my 16yo
 

I advised that my son opt out of the MW machine last week and informed the TSO that I would be videoing the patdown. The supervisor informed me that it would be fine for me to video it, "as long as I don't get the TSO's face or badge number in the video". I said fine, but it really wasn't possible to avoid getting both in the video from the place where he said I could stand. He kept looking at my screen and telling me that I had to "stop getting his face in". I tried to comply with that but paid more attention to getting what I wanted on video.

The supervisor insisted on engaging in conversation with me during the time, and in full disclosure, I was not very nice to him. I even referenced my concern for my stuff being stolen by the TSA. It was difficult to remain cool, as I watched my 16 year old being inappropriately touched by a TSO.

At the end of the patdown, I stopped recording, and then the TSO said to my son: "Now, I had to do an extra thorough patdown on you [pointing over to me]. Normally, this is like 'bing, bang, boom' and it's done."

I immediately asked for the FSD. 15 minutes later a TSA manager came (in plain clothes). I asked him for the FSD. He told me that he was "unavailable". I asked him to confirm that he understood that I was asking for the FSD and he is refusing to get him. He asked me to hang on and left for about 5 minutes. He came back and said he was unavailable.

With nothing else to do, I told the manager what happened. He told me that it was inappropriate, and that he would "take appropriate action". I was straightforward with him, and let him know that I was not nice to the TSOs, but retaliation against a 16yo is unacceptable, especially when it involves physical contact with him. I asked him for the TSO's name and he gave it to me.

What, if anything should I do next?

Call the TSA complaint line at 866-289-9673 and file a complaint with your assailant's name, so that it has a slightly smaller chance of being swept under the rug.

Write your elected representatives and let them know what happened and how angry you are. Ask them to terminate TSA.

The TSA employee cannot force you to not video his face or badge. You should have told him that is the drill and if he didn't like it, he should find a sub, suck it up, or better yet, not sexually assault someone.

Interesting. Of literally all of the checkpoints I use, DCA's are almost uniformly the easiest, most polite and deferential.

I will not dare to suggest what you should do next. But here are various suggestions that have been tossed around in the forums for years.

• File an online complaint with TSA. In principle, this documents your negative experience and gives TSA a formal opportunity to respond. In practice ... well, let's just say that some people get responses from TSA and some don't.
• Obtain the contact information from the FSD who was "unavailable" to speak with you and file a complaint directly with him/her. Of course, depending on the FSD, this may or may not result in any concrete action.
• Go "public" by contacting your local media with your story. This has the disadvantage of putting you and your son on public display, shattering your privacy. On the other hand, it also embarrasses TSA publicly, and TSA has been shown to react swiftly to media reports.
• Contact your senators and your congressional representative and complain about your treatment at the hands of TSA. Probably unlikely to result in any short-term action ... but it at least documents for that representative that one of their constituents had a problem with TSA.

Regrettably, none of the actions "guarantee" a response, much less a resolution of the situation. Such is the way of things.

http://www.oig.dhs.gov/hotline/hotline.php

Warning: print it out before submitting it.

After submitting, you will get a return e-mail with a "case" number assigned to it for future tracking.

If the TSA screener spent to much time or was agressive with your sons crotch area I would consider contacting the police department connected with that airport.

So it seems to me the TSA agents were doing their jobs, and you decided to make it more difficult for them? And self-admittedly you say you were not being nice? I doubt the pat-down was against protocol since he knew he was being recorded. Maybe the comment the TSA agent made was in bad taste, but nothing would have happened if you just went through security like everyone else.

I disagree. If the TSO was just 'doing his job' and 'following protocol', he wouldn't have made the statement about non-filmed gropes being much shorter and less invasive ("bing bang boom, it's done"). IOW, it sounds like perhaps we have a lazy careless TSO who only follows protocol when he's on film - or taking out his bad temper at Dad by groping a kid who had nothing to do with it. Cheap and pathetic.

A TSO who is so easily distracted that he behaves in a retaliatory fashion (against a 16-year-old, no less - what a big, tough, gutless TSO!) is a TSO who is unprofessional and too easily distracted from his mission. He's a TSO with a chip on his shoulder who is so busy scoring points against a kid that he could easily miss something serious. He is the type of TSO who puts all of us at risk if there's ever a bad guy plan to divert attention while something risky slips through.

If the TSA manager was 'doing his job', he wouldn't have lied about limits on photography at the checkpoint, something that has been repeatedly clarified in the media.

Yes, I will not stand by and make it easy for someone to do their job where their job is to touch my child inappropriately.

Always 2 sides to every story. I'm sure the TSA agent would give different story to what happened. If OP was nice about everything and asked politely about filming and was cordial, I doubt there would have been an issue. But she admitted she was not being nice. I highly doubt the TSA agent "groped" the 16 year old. It sounds like an over protective mother overreacting to a standard pat-down. Mothers are naturally protective of their children, its human nature. So I don't necessary blame OP, but I think this is an overreaction.

Then go through the body scanner or don'y fly. Flying is a privilege, not a right. And yes, the pat-downs are pretty pervasive and make many people uncomfortable. But you can't really call them "inappropriate". It's just the nature of the pat-down, it is "inappropriate" for everyone.

I think I was pretty open about what happened, including my own behavior that wasn't pretty.

I will not "ask politely" about doing something that is within my rights. Having said that, I was not rude in the way I declared that I would be videoing. My tone escalated after I was told that I could not capture the identity of the TSO.

Groping is part of SOP for the TSA during a patdown.

I find your post slightly discriminatory and stereotyping of women (one of which I am not).

You miss the greater point.

TSA's mission is aviation security.

If a TSO loses mission focus and starts concentrating on retaliation every time a pax is 'not nice', that is a TSO who can also be easily distracted while someone with bad intent slips something past security. If the TSO can't take the stress of dealing with a pax who is 'not nice', then he/she needs to be rotated to a position where he/she doesn't face the public.

You also don't address the issue of the type of grope - the 'full meal deal' reserved for retaliation versus the standard 'bim bam bang' easy grope for 'compliant' pax. How does that relate to security? A hot babe or a friendly dude smiles and chats up the TSO and gets a quickie 'bim bam bang' grope? Like a bad guy would never think to try that?

What justification was there for the manager to lie about filming at the checkpoint? It is legal, it is allowed, and if the TSO is performing his/her duties correctly, the film will demonstrate that. What is the manager trying to hide?

You doubt the appropriateness of the word 'grope'? I don't. I am an involuntary medical 'opt out'. I get a grope every time I fly because I can't assume and hold the position necessary for a scan. I consider the hands that rub my backside, slide between my legs until they contact my genitals and reach inside the waistband of my trousers to be 'groping'. Just because it is 'required' by TSA doesn't make it something else.

And for the record, as I have stated often elsewhere, no one is more respectful, obsequious, "sir/ma'am" to every TSO I come in contact with. I don't look growling dogs in the eye and I don't look for trouble with TSOs.

If they are inappropriate for everyone why can I not call them inappropriate?

Why scare quotes around "inappropriate?"

Uh, no.

[Calm down Ink. Not worth your time. Deep breaths. Yeah. That's better. Don'y fly?]

"I will not "ask politely" about doing something that is within my rights." Completely disagree with this statement. As for being discriminatory and stereotyping women, I was simply referring to the protective maternal instinct that is found in just about every species on this planet, including humans. No disrespect meant.