Marine veteran furious after TSA confiscates hollowed ammunition cartridge pendant
Aug 12, 2019, 12:53 pm
#1
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Marine veteran furious after TSA confiscates hollowed ammunition cartridge pendant
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I won't even bother quoting the TSA drivel from Lisa Farbstein that followed...
Aaron Bradley, 43, was walking through security in Reagan National Airport in Washington when he was told the engraved necklace, which had a love letter hidden inside, was not allowed.Mr Bradley, who has done tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, pleaded to keep the one-of-a-kind pendant but was told it resembled a 'simulator', according to the Star Tribune.
<snip>
Mr Bradley, from Eagan, Minnesota, says the necklace was not previously confiscated when he wore it through airport security in Minneapolis on a trip to see his military friends.
<snip>
He said: 'She [supervisor clerk] said, 'You can file a complaint,' and she handed me a card. She didn't care… The necklace was near and dear to my heart.'
<snip>
The TSA told the publication that they had made arrangements to return the item after it was placed in a 'prohibited bin'.
<snip>
Mr Bradley, from Eagan, Minnesota, says the necklace was not previously confiscated when he wore it through airport security in Minneapolis on a trip to see his military friends.
<snip>
He said: 'She [supervisor clerk] said, 'You can file a complaint,' and she handed me a card. She didn't care… The necklace was near and dear to my heart.'
<snip>
The TSA told the publication that they had made arrangements to return the item after it was placed in a 'prohibited bin'.
Aug 12, 2019, 1:54 pm
#2
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TSA protocol aside there is a mailing center in the DCA airport. He could have mailed such a personal item. Years ago a TSO wanted to confiscate a bottle of eye drops because on the scanner it looked like it could be a round of ammunition but I pushed back and a supervisor was called who told me to go to my plane.
Aug 12, 2019, 5:16 pm
#4
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Aug 13, 2019, 7:25 am
#6
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This type of occurrence is not without precedent. There have been times where individuals and local leadership have worked to return items to someone, after it was not allowed through the checkpoint area. It is not the norm, nor its it something that I anticipate seeing frequently - but there have been incidents similar to this before.
My $.02, an empty shell casing may need additional scrutiny to make certain it is indeed just an empty casing, but we have seen these many times before. Sometimes they are part of a necklace worn, sometimes they are part of a memento box. I am not certain what was happening here, but the TSA What Can I Bring App returns the following result:
Ammunition
"Empty Shell Casings are allowed in carry-on bags, as long as the projectile is no longer intact"
My $.02, an empty shell casing may need additional scrutiny to make certain it is indeed just an empty casing, but we have seen these many times before. Sometimes they are part of a necklace worn, sometimes they are part of a memento box. I am not certain what was happening here, but the TSA What Can I Bring App returns the following result:
Ammunition
"Empty Shell Casings are allowed in carry-on bags, as long as the projectile is no longer intact"
Aug 13, 2019, 8:42 am
#7
Join Date: Aug 2012
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This type of occurrence is not without precedent. There have been times where individuals and local leadership have worked to return items to someone, after it was not allowed through the checkpoint area. It is not the norm, nor its it something that I anticipate seeing frequently - but there have been incidents similar to this before.
Last edited by petaluma1; Aug 13, 2019 at 8:50 am
Aug 13, 2019, 12:38 pm
#8
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This type of occurrence is not without precedent. There have been times where individuals and local leadership have worked to return items to someone, after it was not allowed through the checkpoint area. It is not the norm, nor its it something that I anticipate seeing frequently - but there have been incidents similar to this before.
My $.02, an empty shell casing may need additional scrutiny to make certain it is indeed just an empty casing, but we have seen these many times before. Sometimes they are part of a necklace worn, sometimes they are part of a memento box. I am not certain what was happening here, but the TSA What Can I Bring App returns the following result:
Ammunition
"Empty Shell Casings are allowed in carry-on bags, as long as the projectile is no longer intact"
My $.02, an empty shell casing may need additional scrutiny to make certain it is indeed just an empty casing, but we have seen these many times before. Sometimes they are part of a necklace worn, sometimes they are part of a memento box. I am not certain what was happening here, but the TSA What Can I Bring App returns the following result:
Ammunition
"Empty Shell Casings are allowed in carry-on bags, as long as the projectile is no longer intact"
Aug 13, 2019, 12:46 pm
#9
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SOP under this proviso are simply suggestions. And overreach like this circumstance simply get addressed by management after the fact. Or not.
Aug 13, 2019, 1:23 pm
#10
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So three wrongs make a right, in the end.
1) TSA shouldn't have prohibited the item to begin with, since spent ammunition casings are explicitly allowed as carry-on baggage.
2) TSA cannot confiscate items, they are "voluntarily surrendered". So he should have been able to get it back and mail or check it (though possibly at the risk of missing the flight).
3. TSA normally doesn't return "voluntarily surrendered" items but did in this case, so the guy got his necklace back.
1) TSA shouldn't have prohibited the item to begin with, since spent ammunition casings are explicitly allowed as carry-on baggage.
2) TSA cannot confiscate items, they are "voluntarily surrendered". So he should have been able to get it back and mail or check it (though possibly at the risk of missing the flight).
3. TSA normally doesn't return "voluntarily surrendered" items but did in this case, so the guy got his necklace back.
Aug 13, 2019, 2:06 pm
#11
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So three wrongs make a right, in the end.
1) TSA shouldn't have prohibited the item to begin with, since spent ammunition casings are explicitly allowed as carry-on baggage.
2) TSA cannot confiscate items, they are "voluntarily surrendered". So he should have been able to get it back and mail or check it (though possibly at the risk of missing the flight).
3. TSA normally doesn't return "voluntarily surrendered" items but did in this case, so the guy got his necklace back.
1) TSA shouldn't have prohibited the item to begin with, since spent ammunition casings are explicitly allowed as carry-on baggage.
2) TSA cannot confiscate items, they are "voluntarily surrendered". So he should have been able to get it back and mail or check it (though possibly at the risk of missing the flight).
3. TSA normally doesn't return "voluntarily surrendered" items but did in this case, so the guy got his necklace back.
Aug 13, 2019, 2:26 pm
#12
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I don't even know what a simulator is supposed to be.
Aug 13, 2019, 3:35 pm
#13
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Aug 14, 2019, 6:28 am
#14
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So three wrongs make a right, in the end.
1) TSA shouldn't have prohibited the item to begin with, since spent ammunition casings are explicitly allowed as carry-on baggage.
2) TSA cannot confiscate items, they are "voluntarily surrendered". So he should have been able to get it back and mail or check it (though possibly at the risk of missing the flight).
3. TSA normally doesn't return "voluntarily surrendered" items but did in this case, so the guy got his necklace back.
1) TSA shouldn't have prohibited the item to begin with, since spent ammunition casings are explicitly allowed as carry-on baggage.
2) TSA cannot confiscate items, they are "voluntarily surrendered". So he should have been able to get it back and mail or check it (though possibly at the risk of missing the flight).
3. TSA normally doesn't return "voluntarily surrendered" items but did in this case, so the guy got his necklace back.
"Unfortunately, there is no process to retrieve items confiscated/surrendered at the checkpoint."
Aug 15, 2019, 11:47 am
#15
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Please note the quote above taken from @ASKTSA: It's nice to see more official confirmation that TSA does confiscate property.
In some cases specific items that fall into the WEI categories have a secondary protocol attached to them, like LEO notification or EOD calls - at that point, the other agency is in charge of the situation and the disposition of the prohibited items, so they may indeed be confiscated, but that would be done by another agency.