STL: TSA harassment & "papers, please"
 

After being asked 3 times (1 pre-ID check, twice in the screening lanes) if I had any liquids in my carryons, I replied "no" too clearly and affirmatively for the screener's taste. She accused me of being rude and aggressive and summoned a supervisor.

When I asked for her badge number, she said I could write down anything I wanted but kept turning away so I couldn't read it. It took several requests for her to allow me to write down her badge #.

The supervisor then arrived and kept asking me if they needed to summon the police. I repeatedly stated that any problem was their creation and I had merely answered very clearly on the 3rd repetition of the same question.

After the supervisor said I could proceed through the line, the screener refused to allow my carryon to continue, even though the conveyor into the inspection machine was moving. I felt that she was deliberatively trying to provoke further problems. After a couple requests, she grudging moved the roller board slightly onto the conveyor. Well, it's on wheels. I reminded her it had to be all the way on but she continued to obstruct it and snarled at me not to tell her how to do her job. Eventually, she relented and the carryon (+ laptop + 2nd bin + laptop case) proceeded into the inspection machine.

Post inspection exit seemed normal until I was subjected to TSA-harassment-by-proxy at the hands of an airport policed officer -- "papers please" in the form of an illegal ID & warrants check. I reminded him it was an illegal stop, and he said I'd go to jail if I didn't comply. Asked what charge, he replied, "interfering with an officer". Catch 22 -- no other charge, but non-compliance with the illegal stop becomes the crime. I insisted on writing down his badge number first, and he promised me his card which was delivered.

Will fill in more from home later, currently in the ATL PC & gotta run!

Funny you should mention STL.

I had major TSA problems there last week also.

The personal screeners were OK but the luggage people were hors de categoire. When I got home I found a bottle of shampoo in my checked luggage had been opened and not closed properly. Had shampoo all over my clothes. Also, I use a contact lens holder with a removable basket in the middle to store my lens' (sp pl?) at night. They screeners had removed the basket and reassembled the lens holder without it. Found the basket loose in my suticase.

On a June trip, a screener at EWR confiscated a corscrew (essential business equipment) and told me that I could not have it on the airplane. She was wrong but I was running late and it was not worth fighting over. This trip, I made sure to put a newly purchased corkscrew (replacement for the one confiscated at EWR) in the luggage. There was no sign of it when I got home.

There you have it...sloppiness, vandalism, petty theft.

The TSA staff in STL appears to be out of control.

Another way to look at it is that they are in control. They have taken over control, taken control away from the law and the rights of the people.

TSA’s incompetence and lack of professionalism should not come as a surprise to anyone. Nowadays, I go to airports expecting to be treated rudely by poorly trained and uneducated TSA officers, that way if I have a smooth experience I feel like they actually did an awesome job (this is rare, of course).

Interestingly enough, the one time I have ever been to St. Louis (for the 2005 Sox-Cards interleague series), I had a horrible experience with the TSA staff at the St. Louis airport. This woman, who was checking ID's and allowing people into the security line, starting screaming at me because I had taken my purse out of my laptop bag to procure my ID, and was putting it back in (which takes all of 3 seconds).

Her: "YOU NEED TO STEP OVER TO THE SIDE"
Me (very groggy, as it was early AM): "huh?"
Her: "I SAID MOVE OVER TO THE SIDE!"
Me: *Confused*
Her: YOU CAN PUT THAT AWAY OVER THERE

It took every ounce of self control I had not to yell right back at her, but I didn't want any problems and just wanted to get home. I guess it's probably good that that is the worst experience I've ever had with the TSA (knock on wood), but I was appalled at the time that one of their workers would be so condescending and rude (not to mention loud) with no provocation whatsoever.

If you are talking about the person at the beginning of the line that checks your ID against your boarding pass, then that person was most probably not a TSO. It was a contractor hired by the airlines, the airport or a consortium.

It sounds like she might have been stalling you while waiting on the police officer?

I presume you were at the x-ray in front of the WTMD, there were nothing being screened by the x-ray, but she purposely wasn't moving the belt forward?

SDF_Traveler

Oh, lovely. I happen to be in STL right now.

A friend who came along to go to a Cardinals game and went back home yesterday said the lines were the slowest he's ever seen and he almost missed his flight, even though he showed up in plenty of time.

Bleh.

This is my normal mindset when traversing the TSA at many airports as well, unfortunately. It has earned the TSA several compliments when they have simply done their jobs--which is kind of sad, when you think of it.

I do still fill out compliment cards or e-mail them to the FSDs when the screeners are professional, do their jobs, and do not waste time on kabuki security (pre-8/10, this largely meant not demanding all shoes off and at times even proactively telling pax that non-profile shoes did not have to be removed at all). I always point out that the particular crew should be models to the rest of the TSA for their professionalism and effectiveness, and hope (but doubt) that someone reads the messages and agrees.

I do hope the OP follows up with complaints to the TSA, the FSD for STL, and the LEO's agency / department.

The TSA may be under a lot of pressure right now, but that is no excuse for their staff to take that out on passengers. Calling a supervisor and LEO on a pax for saying "NO" when asked about liquids? Even if the OP said, "No, do I look like that idiot Kip Hawley or something?" there is simply no cause to take retaliatory steps against the OP. :mad:

Last time I was through STL, DL canceled my flight and invol. put me on an AA flight. That resulted in an SSSS screening, with a 10 minute delay at the checkpoint. TSA was pretty rude to SSSS selectees.

The belt was moving, she was obstructing my suitcase from moving on to the belt. Frankly, I think she was trying hard to provoke further problems. She had a real attitude.

I can't say why, because it would seem that staff would be rotated all the time, but I can tell you from long experience that the TSO's at the East Terminal (SWA's gates) tend to be much more efficient and much less power-hungry than those working the checkpoints in the Main Terminal. The concourse A checkpoint tends to be worst of all; it is a bottleneck that includes a blind corner, so it has space issues.

Most folks flying out of the Main Terminal (except those flying from terminal A) use the big C-D concourse checkpoint under Lindbergh's plane, because they don't know that the B checkpoint exists -- it is small and hidden behind a set of stairs. This means that the lines at the C-D checkpoint tend to be nasty. The small B checkpoint has two lines when fully open, but I've never ended up behind more than 10 people at that one. The walk from the B checkpoint to the C-D concourse fork is about 50 feet, I think.

FWIW, if you already have a BP and don't need to check baggage, and don't mind a nice brisk walk, you can enter through the East Terminal checkpoint and walk over to the B and C concourses; it is about a half-mile walk that will take you through the largely unused D concourse. (The A concourse checkpoint is unfortunately the only way in to the A concourse, AFAIK.)

I've been trying to get my head around the ID thing recently, by studying Hiibel and similar cases. What's the consensus on this situation; could the officer have (legitimately) arrested the OP? Reasonable suspicion, much less probably cause, would be a very hard argument to make. In a similar situation I think I would politely decline to provide ID to the officer, but might verbally identify myself if in one of the states that requires it.

Thoughts?

I want to know this as well. It's an important issue, since it appears any cop can get around Constitutional and case law by just arresting you for 'interfering'. Besides dealing with the arrest and possible criminal charge, you need to pay money to hire a lawyer to sue them (and probably win) and then try to get the arrest expunged from your record - which it generally never completely is. Not to mention the risk of having a judge brand you as a troublemaker and levy a fine or jail stay if the charge ends up in court.

I believe the OP is not going to get much value from contacting the TSA over this - it's obvious they don't care. Much more value can be had by persuing the matter against the police for the threat of arrest for asserting his rights.

A formal complaint sworn out against the cop does have an eventual effect when it comes time for promotions, etc. Perhaps having an attorney swear out the complaint and sending a tersely worded warning to that department might be in order?