sandiegofun

...And are all the time. It would be nice to see some paybacks on the TSO's in this respect.

Spiff

Amen!

It should be just like falsely accusing your pilot of being drunk and getting the flight canceled.

You squeal, you're wrong, you pay.

rufflesinc

wow. um. wow. i cant think of all the things wrong with this post. when was the last time you heard or read of a concerned citizen, calling police, and getting sued or jailed because of his concerned? there's being paranoid and there's seeing something that warrants future investigation by the police. now, im certainly not condoning the police busting down doors or shaking someone down based on my say so. but they definately can go up and ask some questions. there's NOTHING wrong with that. "keep your mouth shut" that is the worst advice ive heard in this thread.

in regards to "proof," you know there's different levels of proof right? there's "beyond reasonable doubt" for conviction, but much much lower just to stop and ask questions.

stockmanjr

So if I see someone doing something suspicious I shouldnt say anything because if I happen to be wrong I could get sued? There's a big difference between reasonable suspicion and filing a false report.
cheers
howie

n5667

Why? If we find something we think to be drugs, we call an LEO and let them sort it out.

Those're the rules... I realize you become a bit unhinged when a topic regards the TSA, but honestly, the guy was following the regs...

...If the cop had decided it was not drugs, she probably would have been fine to go, but the field tests weren't done by the TSA, we don't have any sort of capacity like that.

GUWonder

The TSA should focus on threats to aviation security and even "drugs" don't constitute a threat to the plane or passengers in any special manner no applicable to a mall, an office building or other public/semi-public place.

GUWonder

You have a right to defend yourself from litigation in the same manner in which a person you may view as being suspicious -- say like a person of "Middle Eastern appearance" (or the like) on a train -- has of suing you for making claims about him to government authorities which led to official harasssment.

Spiff

Being a snitch should not be without its consequences. Just because you see "something" doesn't mean that the person is doing something wrong. If another person is harmed, as they were in this case, by your snitching, then you should pay and go to prison.

Spiff

You should not concern yourselves with drugs; they have nothing to do with aircraft security.

If you spend even one minute ratting someone out for alleged drugs, that's one less minute spent on security; ergo we are less safe due to your snitching.

If TSA employees have time to rat people out for drugs, then they should be considered surplus and dismissed.

muddy

You have the right to voice any suspicion you want. I would be surprised if anyone got arrested or successfully sued for this. You are right that voicing a suspicion is very different than filing a false report or making claims that are not true.

If someone here can reference a statute in the US that makes it illegal to voice a suspicion that doesn't "pan out", Id love to see it.

derpelikan

i dont know how the US laws are , but i am sure drugs are illegal.
if the screener thought that it were drugs, and the police were informed, i dont think that they can be held responsible.

the police is responsible for this mess-up, and as i know how police and chemical labs work, if you do a really 100% test it can take weeks to get a result.

i can only think of the following,

screener saws a bag filled with something which looked like drugs,
they called the cops. cops arrested her.
the "drugs" were sent to a lab, depending on the time she was arrested, the lab got it the next morning.

LABs are super slow , ( i had to get a lab to do something in 4 days last time, and they needet 4 days even they knew which tests they had to made...) so the lab test took maybe 10days.

than the police needet another 4-5 days to get all sorted out and get this through the different departmens, maybe a weekend was between that, so she couldnt be released on friday etc. etc.

Didnt she have a lawyer to get her out? i am damn sure that my lawyer would have gotten me out of that crap within 24hours.

dp

muddy

I agree that the TSA did nothing wrong (certainly, IMO, nothing you could arrest or successfully sue anyone for).

As far as LE goes, there are still unanswered questions. Why didn't they field test the powder? Maybe they did and got a postive (albiet false) which warranted further testing? I suspect that this person just got thrown in line with the local crack heads and, from there, caught up in the beaurocracy of the system. Hopefully she will end up with a fat paycheck to soften the blow (no pun intended ) and send a message to those responsible (assuming the matter is pursued in court by the person arrested).

secretbunnyboy

No - this is legally and morally incorrect. Making a well-founded call to the cops in good faith can't, and shouldn't, lead to prosecution. Obviously time-wasting and malicious calls can lead to prosecution.
Well, if you release a cloud of flour into the air, it certainly can lead to some severe coughing...

bocastephen

Keep your mouth shut is excellent advise. Why be a busy-body? Unless you actually witness something or someone that is threatening or dangerous, why get involved?

The two scenarios I provided are perfectly valid comparisons. There are also very clear options of recourse a person has against another person who files a false police report against them. Rest assured, if I was detained and searched because some busy-body pointed me out, I would be taking them to court.

Use common sense and good judgement before pointing your finger at someone.

LessO2

What's "well-founded" in this case? Because it was white and in a condom?

The onus is on the TSAer here, because they are trained in finding "dangerous" items.

TSA has the technology to give it an ETD swab. Trips the alarm, great, you have your "big catch." It doesn't alarm? Must not be dangerous, just let the person go.

The TSA has many more items at their disposal than the average person. Their "referral" to an LEO should carry more weight than someone like you or me off the street ratting on someone. Further, they should be more responsible when they make an accusation that someone is in possession of an illegal item.

It's all about accountability. And everyone here saying the TSAer should go off scot-free is a perfect example, at the most minimal of examples, of how this farce of an agency is out of control and unaccountable for its actions.