I got stuck in this ------- piece of ---- in IND on Wednesday. Not a pleasant experience! I alarmed the ETD for some yet unknown reason and was given the full probe. But, thats only after a TSA supervisor had to come over (I had to stand inside the ETD for 10 minutes!!!!! They would not let me walk out!) All of my bags were ripped open and searched, i was patted down twice, I really felt like I was being gang-raped by a group of about 6 TSA employees... Ugh!!!!

The Puffer is not ETD. They are two totally separate machines.

Did you file a complaint? Did they tell you what the alarm was for?

It was the machine that you walk into, it puffs air at you and samples the air. The IND TSA referred to it as "explosive trace detection" device. I asked to file a complaint but they said there is nobody to file a complaint to as they were following standard operating procedures.

They were clueless. The ETD is the swab that is done for detection of explosives. The puffer does detect trace amounts of explosives but they are not the same.

The complaint forms are all the way to the left of the checkpoint in the tiny little office.

The correct response is "I don't care what you claim to be following, I want to file a complaint. NOW." Start writing down names and ID#'s with "refused to provide complaint form upon request."

On your way back thru IND, get the form and file your complaint, as you are entitled to do.

Assuming you're not exaggerating and actually looked, that's insane. Does this thing lock you in? What if there's a fire or other emergency and the screeners flee without letting you go?

My understanding is that TSA does not have the authority to touch you without your consent let alone detain you. I'd file a police report for false imprisonment. :mad:

Any screener that ever puts me in one of these things without allowing me to maintain visual control of my baggage with the option to run over and defend my property if someone starts to steal it will be reported to the police.

Well, you're not really "locked" in there, the back remains open and theres a plastic bar across the front of it that you push open to walk through the front, but they told me do not leave the machine. Meanwhile my laptop etc were headed down the belt where other pax could have picked them up, out of my sight.

Technically the puffer is just an ETD with air jets to dislodge particles and a vacuum to suck them up into the test chamber.

Sure.

But there is a machine called "ETD". There's no reason to confuse the issue by calling the puffer an ETD because it performs a similar function.

When you enter the checkpoint you have given implied consent. The puffer doesn't lock you in, it just prevents you from continuing.

I've given consent (at least according to the courts) to a search, but I don't think I've given consent to detention and certainly not in an enclosed cell. Multiple posters (in other threads too) have implied that the puffer restrains movements of the person (closing doors on both sides, etc.), and I'm glad to hear that is not the case.

As a practical matter, I don't have a problem with the puffer setup as long as you aren't trapped in it (backing out is fine for my safety concerns) and you can maintain visual control of your belongings (seems to be a problem at some airports). I haven't been through a puffer yet myself.

I do have a major problem with how alarms are handled on the puffer and the ETD considering that the vast majority of alarms are false (i.e., not a terrorist), because TSA seems to go into "big catch" mode and engage in extreme behavior (detentions, overzealous bag searches beyond what's needed to clear the bag, threats in some cases, copying down names and addresses for use in a secret database in violation of the Privacy Act, etc.) even after they have resolved the alarm.

True, but why call the ETP the ETD?

We don't, just pointed out the ETP is an ETD which passes wind :p

So I won't be going back thru IND anytime soon, is it even worth it to file a complaint? If so, how would I do it? Should I expect that anything will change with these procedures?

You alarmed the ETP, the supervisor was called and you needed to be cleared. Besides your over dramatic comments I don't see any problem.

There were at least a couple problems:

1. I was forced to stand (against my will) inside of the machine for 10 minutes until a supervisor could come over and allow me to pass to the secondary screening area

2. I lost visual control of my bags during this process.