TSA defends search of elderly woman's adult diaper

A traveler is patted down by a TSA agent as she goes through airport security earlier this month.

Texas lawmakers revive TSA anti-groping measure

AUSTIN – A Senate committee on Monday approved heavily revamped legislation to ban intrusive airport pat-downs on Monday as supporters rushed to salvage the beleaguered measure before the end of the Legislature’s special session on Wednesday.

With House Speaker Joe Straus denouncing the bill as a "public stunt," the chief Senate sponsor of the bill incorporated changes that prompted some supporters of the original bill to turn away from the measure. Supporters planned amendments on the House floor designed to toughen the bill and return it closer to the original form.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, chief author of the Senate bill, acknowledged that proponents are racing the clock to get the measure passed out of both chambers of the Legislature before adjournment. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Senate's presiding officer, supports the legislation, but it faces a towering obstacle in the House after Straus declared late last week that the measure would not be brought to the floor in its current form.

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/06/27/3182576/texas-lawmakers-revive-tsa-anti....

TSA lies about ordering adult diaper removed from the 95 year old leukemia victim passenger..

Jean Weber of Destin filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security after her 95-year-old mother was detained and extensively searched last Saturday while trying to board a plane to fly to Michigan to be with family members during the final stages of her battle with leukemia.

Her mother, who was in a wheelchair, was asked to remove an adult diaper in order to complete a pat-down search.

“It’s something I couldn’t imagine happening on American soil,” Weber said Friday. “Here is my mother, 95 years old, 105 pounds, barely able to stand, and then this.”

Sari Koshetz, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami, said she could not comment on specific cases to protect the privacy of those involved.

“The TSA works with passengers to resolve any security alarms in a respectful and sensitive manner,” she said.

Weber’s mother entered the airport’s security checkpoint in a wheelchair because she was not stable enough to walk through, Weber said.

Wheelchairs trigger certain protocols, including pat-downs and possible swabbing for explosives, Koshetz said.

“During any part of the process, if there is an alarm, then we have to resolve that alarm,” she said.

Weber said she did not know whether her mother had triggered an alarm during the 45 minutes they were detained.

She said her mother was first pulled aside into a glass-partitioned area and patted down. Then she was taken to another room to protect her privacy during a more extensive search, Weber said.

Weber said she sat outside the room during the search.

She said security personnel then came out and told her they would need for her mother to remove her Depends diaper because it was soiled and was impeding their search.

Weber wheeled her mother into a bathroom, removed her diaper and returned. Her mother did not have another clean diaper with her, Weber said.

Dying Elderly Woman Asked to Remove Adult Diaper During TSA Search

Weber said she wished there were less invasive search methods for an elderly person who is unable to walk through security gates.

“I don’t understand why they have to put them through that kind of procedure,” she said.

Koshetz said the procedures are the same for everyone to ensure national security.

“TSA cannot exempt any group from screening because we know from intelligence that there are terrorists out there that would then exploit that vulnerability,” she said.

Weber filed a complaint through Northwest Florida Regional’s website. She said she received a response from a Homeland Security representative at the airport on Tuesday and spoke to that person on the phone Wednesday.

The representative told her that personnel had followed procedures during the search, Weber said.

“Then I thought, if you’re just following rules and regulations, then the rules and regulations need to be changed,” she said.

Weber said she plans to file additional complaints next week.

“I’m not one to make waves, but dadgummit, this is wrong. People need to know. Next time it could be you.”