janetdoe

So if a ring of TSOs encircle you or block your path, and insist they are not detaining you, but they won't move out of your way, what legal measures can you use to 'terminate' the detention without opening yourself to charges of assault or battery?

I'm not doubting that you are legally correct; I just don't see a realistic immediate solution.

I am fairly convinced this exact scenario is why checkpoints are always overstaffed with extra people just standing around... to enforce an unofficial detention through creating a human wall.

cbn42

You could keep walking and go right through the human wall. They will have to either get out of the way or physically block you. If they do the latter, then they are detaining you.

janetdoe

That makes sense if they move. But say they don't move and they ARE detaining you. What can you do about it?

If you touch them, I think you are running the risk of battery charges, aren't you? Not saying they'll stick, but you could spend a lot of money defending yourself.

So then you are left to sue them after the fact. Under what statute? I guess it could be a Bivens tort, that they are acting under color of law to create a 'seizure' of your person, even though they have no authority or power to do so. But seems like a real waste of lawyers' time if they only detain you the 5 minutes it takes for an LEO to show up. What punitive damages could you really expect to claim?

Sounds like a recipe for 'hard cases make bad law'. I bet all you'd get is a precedent that TSA could detain you as long as needed to complete the administrative search, which isn't complete until all alarms have been resolved.

Spiff

Not at all. In that case, Break On Through is a viable option, should they try to detain you in concert. Battery charges will not be filed if you declare your intent to leave and they actively try to prevent you from doing so.

TSA wants no definitive rulings on their actions due to that pesky discovery they are so terrified of. Security through Obscurity/Stupidity is TSA's mantra.

Kagehitokiri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_imprisonment ?

petaluma1

Thanks for this. So many of us have presumed all along that this above is the real reason for the private room search.

An administrative search must be done "not far from the eyes of the public" and a private room certainly does not match that criteria.

FliesWay2Much

I've noticed, because it's happened to me when I've gotten into it with manager clerks, that the rest of them do swarm around you. I'm sure it's not because they are interested in the discussion. I'm sure it's all about detaining you and intimidating you.

The ex-clerk who has the blog site (can't remember his name) and a couple of victims have said that they grope you with the front of their hands three times. That's what they are keeping out of the public eye. At this point, I've got to believe most people really do feel that they are going to be arrested, and, combined with their obsession of making their flight, readily comply.

Man, I wish somebody with sufficient resources would challenge them.... The executive and legislative branches obviously have no interest.

RedSnapper

I'm not aware of the TSA ever making good on it's threat to sue somebody for leaving a checkpoint before screening is completed. To do so would require the TSA to reveal exactly what its screening process entails, which it will not do. Keeping this process a secret serves the dual purpose of allowing the TSA to threaten and intimidate people with increasingly abusive screening by claiming that the rules are whatever they say they are, while at the same time avoiding accountability for when its agents violate its secret protocol.

Has anyone ever been sued for leaving a checkpoint? If so, a link would be useful...

RedSnapper

I agree 100% on the security by obscurity, discovery point. I'd be a bit more cautious on the "Break on Through" option. I'd rather be seen on a security camera being the victim of aggressive bodily contact than the perpetrator of it. Rather, I'd pull out my phone and start recording, being sure to get the names and faces of anyone who is blocking egress. This may be enough to get some of them to shy away, freeing your path. If not, wait for the cops to arrive, keep your cool, and calmly explain that you haven't done anything wrong and would like to leave without waiving any of your rights or risking being molested. Point out that you are being detained, and politely ask for access to the exit.

If you are being detained but time is on your side, why risk a physical altercation? Keep your cool, wait it out, then sue for false imprisonment later if you'd like.

petaluma1

Jason Harrington, Taking Sense Away?

catocony

I've never had this happen, but if it ever does, I do have a plan: call 911 on my cell, and ask for airport LEO to come and assist me.

GaryD

First sentence above, ironic.

"Calling a law enforcement officer" does not mean "authority to effect a temporary detention for law enforcement."

No need for further "reports back." Plenty of reports, no known incidents of anyone charged with "resisting detention" by a TSA "Officer" [sic].

halls120

How about providing a statutory or regulatory cite to back up your assertion?

Yes, a TSA clerk can "detain" you pending arrival of a LEO if you are seeking entry into airside. If you decide to leave the airport and the screening location, just what authority do the clerks have to stop you?

Even TSA admits they don't have authority to detain.
http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/02/clarific...of-3-year.html

So, since you 'know better', how about explaining this?

FliesWay2Much

Yep -- thanks for being my external hard drive! ^

FliesWay2Much

I would think that they wouldn't simply escort you to landside. I've got to believe that they would follow you back to your car, which would give them the opportunity to write down your license plate number and open up a whole bunch of other things if the cop were vindictive enough. If it were my home airport, I would either take a taxi or shuttle bus to a hotel or other public place fairly close to the airport and would make my way back to the airport after they lost interest.