"The passenger was interfering with the screening process..." -video at 11
 

Obviously a major mistake in the headline is that the "tussle" was not with TSA personnel but with airport police at a TSA checkpoint but it still makes, er, interesting viewing. While the video may not "tell the whole story," I certainly couldn't see anything the woman was doing to justify the reaction:

Tussle between TSA and passenger caught on camera, now the focus of a lawsuit

A New York woman has filed a $10 million lawsuit stemming from her arrest at Washington's Reagan International Airport last year, an arrest she says was unwarranted and abusive.

Police say 31-year-old Robin Kassner was obstructing justice.

Security cameras captured the incident and the video has now been made public.

Surveillance video from inside Reagan National Airport shows Robin Kassner standing with a TSA agent who sorts through her bag.

Moments later, a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police officer steps in and pulls Kassner to the ground.

http://tinyurl.com/5t5lnv

I not only hope she wins her lawsuit but that the police and TSA employees responsible for her abuse have to pay up out of their own pockets. The police belong in prison for their disgusting actions too. :mad:

"Obstruction of Justice". "Disturbing the peace". Those seem to be catch-all charges thrown out by police when they don't have legitimate charges to file, but without audio it is hard to say if something more happened.

Even if she told the TSA employee to go take a flying ____, that is no excuse for the disgusting treatment she received.

There certainly could be more to the story. But nothing I saw in the video justified the cop's attack on her. He probably just got tired of listening to her so he took it upon himself to shut her up. Not exactly legal.

Furthermore............I didn't see anything in the video that I wouldn't have done myself. There is no way in hell I would let a TSA goon paw through my things without me keeping a close eye on him/her. I've been searched before and the TSO never had an issue with me standing right nearby.

She claims that there was no argument first? That this came out of nowhere? Come on. You don't have 3 TSA agents throw you around like that unless there was something unusual going on. Clearly the tape doesn't tell the whole story, but I'm not buying her side that I see on the tape.

Those were police officers. If the TSA had thrown her around, she'd already be a very wealthy woman. TSA has no powers of arrest and certainly no ability to physically abuse someone.

I don't care if she did argue. Words are no excuse for what happened to her.

I don't see interference with screening, but I do see a LEO (wrongly IMO) trying to distract the woman from monitoring the search of her bag. Nothing the woman was doing seemed to indicate she was being combative or causing interference with the screening. Something was going on though for the LEO to be standing there. The woman would sound better in the interview if she would just state the reason TSA was agitated and the LEO was present; in all likelihood the reason would just make TSA look worse anyway.

If I had to make a wild guess (which without audio the video can neither substantiate or refute), the LEO was upset that the woman was watching her property rather than "repecting the LEO's authoritah :rolleyes: " and so initiated the takedown and arrest.

IMO TSA's "non-physical interference with screening" "offense" is merely a trumped up charge to be used by power-tripping screeners and supervisors. If it's non physical, it's not interference. If someone is screaming/cussing at the top of their lungs, it's not interference, though it may be disorderly conduct worthy of a LEO call. (Actual disorderly conduct, unlike the trumped-up disorderly conducts so often used by power-tripping LEOs).

This case is yet another reason why even law-abiding citizens can never trust law enforcement in any encounter. Even if 99% of LEOs are good 95% of the time, the risk is still too great. If LEOs want respect and not just fear from the law-abiding public, they should understand that videos like this are ten steps backwards when positive stories are only one step forward.

Maybe she was dressed too nicely? She should dress like a Goth - people always keep their distance.

Does this happen more at DCA than elsewhere?
 

Ever notice that there seem to be more stories of apparent screener/LEO abuse of pax at DCA than elsewhere?

Wasn't it just last year that a mother traveling with a toddler wasn't allowed to carry the kid's sippy cup, "spilled" the contents on the floor as she was being escorted from the checkpoint, and was forced by the TSA/LEOs under threat of arrest to get down on her knees and scrub the floor while her child was left unattended (even though the woman's non-traveling SO was in sight and she easily asked to call him over to assist.)?

I was just going to speculate how long it would be before the TSA bloggers tried to defend the indefensible. But, I was too late. Blogger Bob has already posted on the KARE website!

Let's see -- Blogger Bob posted at 1128 EDT and the thread first appeared here at 1046 EDT. I'd say Blogger Bob takes a peek at FT every once in a while.

So, I guess I will ask him directly: "Bob, how long before you defend the indefensible on the blog site?"

Yep, because people in DC are politician wannabes and idiots. Our Nation's Capital is in desperate need of a deep cleansing.

We discussed this in a huge thread at the time, although I can't seem to find it now.

It boiled down to the usual polarization - "she asked for it" vs. "facist police".

You Go Girl, hope you collect mucho $$$ ^

Agree. Total disregard for her rights.

What Blogger Boob failed to mention is that the cop was likely called by the TSA. Meaning that TSA had some responsibility for this.

WHAT in the world would warrent THAT kind of reaction in this situation!?! Good lord I do hope she get its her damages. Do some of you remember me saying that you people should be more afraid of what you have in power these day than most threats from the outside - well ladies and gentleman - THIS is exactly what I mean't. No big Ts then you are going to be the target eventually. :shaking head in disgust: