UPDATE: TSA released video of the incident: TSA Denies “Sippy Cup” Incident, Creates “MythBusting” Website In Response
The TSA is out of control! Monica Emmerson was traveling with her 19 month old toddler when she was detained at Reagan International Airport and threatened with arrest because her toddler had a sippy cup with tap water in it, according to NowPublic:
“I demanded to speak to a TSA [Transportation Security Administration] supervisor who asked me if the water in the sippy cup was ‘nursery water or other bottled water.’ I explained that the sippy cup water was filtered tap water. The sippy cup was seized as my son was pointing and crying for his cup. I asked if I could drink the water to get the cup back, and was advised that I would have to leave security and come back through with an empty cup in order to retain the cup. As I was escorted out of security by TSA and a police officer, I unscrewed the cup to drink the water, which accidentally spilled because I was so upset with the situation.
“At this point, I was detained against my will by the police officer and threatened to be arrested for endangering other passengers with the spilled 3 to 4 ounces of water. I was ordered to clean the water, so I got on my hands and knees while my son sat in his stroller with no shoes on since they were also screened and I had no time to put them back on his feet. I asked to call back my fianc
, who I could still see from afar, waiting for us to clear security, to watch my son while I was being detained, and the officer threatened to arrest me if I moved. So I yelled past security to get the attention of my fianc
.
(Photo: Bill Adler)
“I was ordered to apologize for the spilled water, and again threatened arrest. I was threatened several times with arrest while detained, and while three other police officers were called to the scene of the mother with the 19 month old. A total of four police officers and three TSA officers reported to the scene where I was being held against my will. I was also told that I should not disrespect the officer and could be arrested for this too. I apologized to the officer and she continued to detain me despite me telling her that I would miss my flight. The officer advised me that I should have thought about this before I ‘intentionally spilled the water!’”
“I missed my flight, needless to say after being detained for over 40 minutes. After the officer was done humiliating me, I was advised that I could go through the security check point in an attempt to catch my flight. The officer insisted that my son and I be rescreened despite us both being detained and under her control the entire time.”
We don’t even know what to say to that. Maybe the TSA agent was secretly the Wicked Witch of the West and water makes her melt? Or maybe she was one of those aliens from the movie Signs. The ones who invade a planet full of “deadly poisonous water” while naked. Your guess is as good as ours.—MEGHANN MARCO
Nightmare at Reagan National Airport: A Security Story to End all Security Stories [NowPublic via BoingBoing]
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I’ve flown a lot since 9/11. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories courtesy of the Internet.
The thing is . . .
1. I’ve never had anything like this happen to me.
2. I’ve never seen anything like this happen at a checkpoint.
3. I’ve never heard of anything like this happening to anyone I know.
4. Nobody I know has seen anything like this happen at a checkpoint.
Methinks that there is something missing from this tale . . . something akin to the time I had to bail one of my Marines out of jail, and he finally said to me, “Honest, Sarge, I wasn’t trying to start a fight when I called that Army Ranger a faggot!”
@FunkLord – no, 100s of people follow the same rules, deal with the same TSA agents and manage not to get into embarassing scenes. Dozens of people forget the same rules, but don’t act like idiots when the TSA points this out to them. The only different factor in this case was the passenger behaving like a spoilt brat…
@doctor_cos: I’ve got to say that while no liquids on the plane seems like a great idea, it strikes me as a bit futile. I mean a guy could walk onto a plane with a pen full of explosive and that would be enough to blow out a window, unless they’re prepared to strip search everyone they are only trying to maintain an illusion of safety. If somebody wants to blow something up they’re gonna do it. I believe freedom has a price, but who determines when we cross the line?
@royal72:
“rules of stupidity and fear. if someone wants to take down a plane, then they will and no amount wasted time, money, and freedom taken away will change that… “
Great logic.
I guess the same could be said about anything now, couldn’t it?
For instance – if someone wants to murder other people, no amount of wasted time, money and freedom taken away will change that.
Same with rape, robbery, assault, tax evasion, etc.
To hell with the rules!
That’s why I don’t wear pants, have shirts with bullseyes on them, carry my money pinned to my shirt, leave my doors and windows open and unlocked, and carry a sign saying: ‘feel free to do what you want!’. I’ve also painted “My doors are unlocked” on the side of my building and had sticker made for my car.
Absurd.
By the way – is flying a right? Nope.
It is a privilege. That’s it!
Meaning that any private company can impose restrictions on what goes on a plane as well as determine what security procedures they want.
TSA is a federal agency that does its best to protect people who fly.
Don’t like it? Tough. Don’t fly.
This amounts to a whole bunch of complaning over nothing.
And so many have posted how silly the rules are and how poor of a job is done…
Have there been any terror attacks on airplanes since these rules have developed?
Not one.
Your choice is security or no security. That’s it.
I have flown to Israel 4 times and each time, I spent the extra money to fly EL-AL. They have the strictest security of all. Every single member of their security team is ex-military. They ask you all sorts of questions and go through each bag to ensure the safety of their passengers. It lengthens the amount of time before you actually get on the plane, but I’ve never felt safer. When trying to determine security levels, Americans were unwilling to accept this level of security and we get what we always get from the federal government – the winner was the lowest bidder.
I am not a huge fan of the TSA, and I don’t think they should have ALLEGEDLY berated her – but I would not be surprised in the least to find out that instead of simply complying with TSA, this person freaked out and started being a pain in the butt.
You get what you deserve (admittedly, the alleged behavior of TSA was over the top, but also only alleged).
The funny thing is that very few complaints seem to be coming from people who actually fly frequently.
And the excuse that she ‘forgot’ or should be required to ‘remember’ the rules is asinine on it’s face. I literally JUST got back from vacation in California. I heard the announcement so many times that it is burned in my brain. NO LIQUIDS.
Comply, or don’t fly. But most of all – listen to the TSA agents and don’t argue. They will let you empty your screaming kids sippy cup, pass through security and then let you go fill it up again. BIG DEAL.
At some level, unpredictability of TSA employees is a very important and good thing. The more predictable the procedures are, the easier they are to thwart. Whether it is intentional is another question entirely.
And one more thing -
Too many of you seem to think that the only danger liquids can pose are explosive in nature.
That’s is just simplistic liberalism for you.
Mixing two odorless and colorless liquids can result in toxic fumes that could kill everyone on a plane.
It can also create acids that can burn through people’s skin as well as metals and plastics.
Think outside the box – the terrorists sure are.
Too many of you have forgotten what it was like BEFORE 9/11.
People could travel with knives and box cutters and no one would say boo.
But yet again, many of you miss the point here:
this young woman claims to have suffered abuse by the TSA agents. We don’t know what she did, we don’t know what was said, and we don’t really know what happened.
She claims to have been threatened with arrest and intimidated by armed TSA agents. Can we verify that?
Of course not.
Take a step back and think for a moment. The majority of us that travel via airplane have ZERO complaints that come even close to what this story alleges.
I’d still bet the mom (yes, she’s pretty hot) wasn’t polite and coureous at all – I’d bet she was madder than heck that TSA had the cojones to say anything to her.
Hey – i feel for her. Traveling with a kid can be rough. Suck it up! It’s YOUR kid. Why excuse anyone of their responsibility because they have a kid? Horse poop. Not buying it.
TSA is the worst idea ever. They can be complete asses with no consequences. The worst part is that we, the customer, are paying them through taxes and aitline tickets. They have no one to report to, and are all on a power trip. They broke a portable DVD player of mine, so I filled out countless pages of BS forms, only for them to respond “your word against our’s, and we win”
How about we go back to the old fashioned method, which was more than adequate (metal detector and xrays).
It was the passengers on board the doomed 9/11 flights who were so afraid of a 1/4-inch-deep slash from an exacto knife that they let themselves fly into buildings and set off a massive war.
If you can hijack a plane with an exacto knife, then surely you can find something onboard a plane to serve the same purpose.
Lock the flight deck and arm a stewardess. done.
I’m glad the bitch and the bastard missed their flight. While the TSA douchebags were out of control; I hate people with kids when I’m flying. I was behind a family the other day in security; and they take forever, with all their crap. And of course they have vitamin water that they want to take on board; but it has to be thrown out or checked. The rules are the rules; they have been in effect for a long time. Drug the damn bastard; and he will be quiet without his damn sippy cup.
That’s why I driiive everywhere baby.
TSA screeners are not TSA air marshals, not even close and that is part of the problem…
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY OFFICER (TSO) (Screener)
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
• Be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National
• Have a high school diploma, GED or equivalent; OR
• Have at least one year of full-time work experience in security work, aviation screener work, or X-ray technician work.
In order to successfully perform this work, TSO’s must possess the following job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities:
• English Proficiency (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, listening);
• Mental Abilities (e.g., visual observation, x-ray interpretation);
• Personal Characteristics and Skills (e.g., customer service, dependability, integrity); and
• Physical Abilities (e.g., repeatedly lifting and carrying baggage weighing up to 70 lbs, bending, reaching, stooping, squatting, standing, and walking)
In addition, all TSO’s must meet job-related medical standards that will be assessed in a pre-employment medical evaluation. This evaluation considers relevant aspects of all body systems (e.g., cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, auditory, etc.). The medical standards include but are not limited to:
• Visual ability including two functioning eyes with:
* Distance vision correctable to 20/30 or better in the best eye and 20/100 or better in the worse eye;
* Near vision correctable to 20/40 or better binocular;
* Color perception (e.g., red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, brown, black, white, gray).
Note: color filters (e.g.,contact lenses) for enhancing color discrimination are prohibited;
• Hearing (corrected or uncorrected) as measured by audiometry cannot exceed: a) an average hearing loss of 25 decibels (ANSI) at 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000Hz in each ear, and b) single reading of 45 decibels at 4000 and 6000 Hz in each ear;
• Adequate joint mobility, dexterity and range of motion, strength, and stability to repeatedly lift and carry up to 70 pounds; and
• Blood pressure not to exceed 140 / 90.
Conditions of Employment: To be considered for initial employment, you must be able to:
• Pass a pre-employment drug screening test
• Pass a background investigation, including a criminal check and a credit check. NOTE: This is a non-critical sensitive National Security position that requires you to be fingerprinted, photographed, and complete appropriate security paperwork, including a SF-86 Questionnaire for National Security Positions. The pre-employment background investigation must be completed with favorable results prior to a final offer of employment and cannot be initiated until submission of a COMPLETED questionnaire.
If your credit check reveals any of the following, YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS POSITION:
• Defaulted on $5,000 or more in debt (excluding certain circumstances of bankruptcy), or
• Owe any delinquent Federal or State taxes, or
• Owe any past due child support payments.
• Pass initial hiring and all training requirements including 56-72 hours of classroom training, 112-128 hours of on-the-job training, and initial certification testing.
NOTE: Initial training may require you to travel for up to two weeks on a full-time schedule.
To maintain employment, you must meet all qualification requirements described above. In addition, you must be able to:
• Demonstrate daily a fitness for duty without impairment due to illegal drugs, sleep deprivation, medication, or alcohol;
• Work all of the following: part-time work consists of shift-work on any day from Sunday through Saturday, which may include irregular hours, nights, holidays, overtime, extended shifts and weekend shifts, changing shifts, and split shifts (e.g., some duty hours are completed in the morning while the others are completed during a night shift). The airport will determine specific work schedules after you begin your appointment.
• Pass all recurrent and specialized training and re-certification tests on a periodic basis;
• Pass random drug screening tests; and
• Pass all recurrent background investigations, including a criminal check and credit check.
It always pisses me off that these retards think their God just because the government upgraded their pay and gave em shiny new badges. They let the terrorists walk through with smiles, but harass everyone else who they can bully around. Even the asshole customs officers whose signs clearly say they must greet you with a smile never do. I am sure if I questioned it they would stick my ass in Guantanamo, they always treat me like a total 2nd class citizen. I wonder how they treat non-Americans, no wonder the rest of the world think we are as rude as the French.
@xamarshahx:
” They let the terrorists walk through with smiles, but harass everyone else who they can bully around. “
As evidenced by….?
Oh right, your anger and distrust.
Putz.
Go back to the downers – the uppers clearly make you easily agitated.
“I am sure if I questioned it they would stick my ass in Guantanamo, they always treat me like a total 2nd class citizen.”
Mmm hmm.
Sure they do.
Again – settle down.
“no wonder the rest of the world think we are as rude as the French.”
I’d guess it’s more because of crap like this than anything the security and customs agents do.
See, when you vent your spleen about people not smiling and make false accusations about getting thrown in gitmo if you ask a customs agent why they don’t smile, people from all over the world read it when they come here. They don’t think “Yeah, that guys right! TSA and Customs agents are jerks.” They think “What an asshole this guy is. All Americans must be assholes.”
Think, then speak.
This is what happens when you combine minimum wage employees with the “power of authoritah!”
People in the US have given up their civil liberties so easily because they want to be “safe” yet fail to realize what has made them more safe… people on a hijacked airplanes will not sit quietly and try to wait it out anymore. That change happened so quickly the fourth plane on 9/11 didn’t make it to its target. And the government didn’t implement that change. Hopefully everyone will checkout Ron Paul so that we might shutdown the TSA.
THE TRUTH
[www.tsa.gov]
Click the link and read and watch the video for yourself of what REALLY happened. You can see the woman take the lid off the sippy cup, pour the water onto the floor (with her shoes on), and try to walk back into the secure area through the exit lane, THAN argue with the police officer who stopped her. The truth comes out!
Ohhh… that video is awesome…
I love how opening the cup, dumping the contents, and shaking it out becomes “I unscrewed the cup to drink the water, which accidentally spilled because I was so upset with the situation.”
The best part is that her toddler was behaving better than she was.
Ben, if you are reading the last couple of comments, PLEASE either update this story or post the other side of the story, with the video on the main page. Suggested headline: “Woman claiming to be Secret Service Agent freaks out at airport security while trying to carry TWO liquid containers through security”
Not that we should necessarily believe the other side as the truth either, but the fact that we can see her tip the water out, the report makes no mention of 40 minutes of detention, and she managed to leave out the fact that she tried to skip the line by flashing “secret service” leaves me even more inclined to disbelieve her…
Lol. Add to that the fact that we foreigners literally must pay for the privilege of being probed by an anal retentive pack of monkeys so we can spend MORE money on the US; if we fail to comply, we’re gently invited to leave the country by deportation. That if we have been able to pass through the mandatory interview with the US ambassador itself (through 10-15 cm. thick bulletproof glass, like if I’d bring a bazooka to the interview).
How many _real_ threats have been actually stopped by this “you are a damn criminal until proven otherwise” policy?
But all of the secret service agents I know are so outstanding. Honestly, what happened there?
The Washington Post is reporting on this this morning and says that TSA has actually posted footage and the incident report on their Web site. You can read the article at this link:
[www.washingtonpost.com]
[www.tsa.gov]
@lohphat:
I certainly hope by we you just mean America.
update: [news.yahoo.com]
@Secret Agent Man: IAWTC
@Johnny: FTW
I really wish you guys would run an update to this story that has video of the incident, and that the TSA agents weren’t harassing her, but the exact opposite. She flashed her SS badge (secret service mind you) and acted like the rules didn’t apply to her.
The water was not “accidentally” spilled. She dumped it on the agent.
want video proof? You guys may not like the source, but the evidence is indisputable [www.tsa.gov]
I don’t like the TSA myself, but i hate lying whining attention whores more than the TSa.
As much as I hate people who say ‘I told you so’…..
I told you so.
Beerad, lmao! Good one!
If you watch the video, the woman clearly opens the lid and dumps the water onto the ground. She even gives the cup a few shakes to get every last drop out. Why not just do what she was asked to do? She turned the situation into a pissing-contest by her careless action and flashing her credentials. While I have never flown with a toddler in-tow I am very much aware of the ban of liquids in airports (as I’m sure a government agent would/should be as well). If that sippy-cup is so precious why not carry it minus any liquids until making it through the security checkpoint? Surely the little boy was at no risk of dehydration from the time he left the origin of the magically filtered tap water to the time he and his mother made it to the gate! My question is what took the TSA so long to clean up the spill? If you watch the video dozens of people can be seen walking through the area where the spill occurred. That selfish woman put other travellers
Well, I watched the TSA video, and it looks like the airport police, not the TSA, intentionally humiliated the woman. Yeah, she seemed frazzled trying to get her infant, his baggage-laden stroller, and herself onto the plane, and she does appear to spill the water from the sippy cup on purpose. If you’ve got a kid, you know that sippy cups typically hold only a few ounces of water and, if the kid had already drank some, there was probably not much to spill.
Now, I’m not arguing that she should have just been permitted to spill the water, but what APPEARS to transpire next does not speak well for the government: The female cop stops her, threatens her with arrest, and demands that Frazzled Woman clean up the water herself. FW crouches down and tries to clean up the water with something from her bag. The female cop radios for backup and puts her left hand on her gun (since she had a likely terrorist here, I guess). FW then pulls the kid from his stroller (probably he started crying) and, well copper looks on, goes back to trying to clean. The kid then runs off and almost gets to the end of the floor before FW catches him. Some guy in a suit shows up and picks up / holds the kid — so FW can go back to the hard labor to which copper sentenced her. Then a TSA guys comes up and starts handing FW paper towels, and still she’s wiping, and still copper looks unsatisfied. The TSA guy actually starts to help her clean, but, perhaps because of a remark from copper, stands up and lets FW finish (but takes her used towels). The whole process takes 10 or so minutes, for most of which Frazzled Woman is seen trying to clean.
How hard can it be clean up a few oz of water? It looks like the cop wasn’t going to let FW get back in the security line until every molecule of water was cleaned up, twice.
So, the bigger picture looks to me like the following: FW does something she shouldn’t, but nothing that’s a big deal, either. Airport police woman on power trip makes it a very big deal, and does in fact abuse FW. FW posts her experience to a listserv and, although she was genuinely abused, glosses over her role in triggering the abuse. Bloggers pick up the story, treating each word as fact. TSA, mis-using the power of the state, posts the video and police report, and contacts Wash Post and other papers “on background” to discredit the woman, glossing over the police’s misconduct. It works.
I think she should have been arrested after viewing the video on TSA’s website. TSA has a difficult time keeping passengers safe, and we should all be a little more sympathetic to what they have to face after 911. They are the first to get blamed when something goes wrong and the last to receive kudos when a terroristic plot is stopped and they are involved. I don’t want their job. But to be effective in their positions NOBODY can receive special treatment. Someone could have stolen her ID and used it to gain access. I don’t care who she works for, when special treatment is extended, security is compromised! Let’s not forget the astro-nut!! Should she have gotten through also, with Depends undergarments and all? Let’s think about this for a moment folks….NO!
Did you ever wonder why the fiance was walking so far ahead of her? It took me 15 seconds of viewing this woman’s body language, attitude and demeanor to figure out that she is a loose canon. The fiance got the heck out of dodge and left her to fend for herself. She clearly dumped water on the floor posing a slip and fall hazard to other passengers. She could have been arrested for disorderly conduct and should have been arrested!
No one is exempt from the screening process. Even flashing her credentials to obtain favors or special treatment is unethical and a prohibited practice unless for official business…shame on her! If those are the type of individuals who protect our President, I am concerned. Would she let someone bypass security measures that are in place for keeping our President safe? She of all people should understand and respect security measures that are in place to keep our country and citizens safe!!
Downgraded: Odds of seeing pole-dancer art on London-Gatwick approach First it was the Kentucky Fried Chicken ad featuring a Colonel Sanders image visible from space. Now, a website’s advertisement featuring a giant chalk outline of a poledancing stripper is causing controversy in the UK.
They werem’t harrassing her. She conveniently left out the part about flashing her badge and her pathetic attempt to get special treatment. Don’t fell bad for her and don’t blame the TSA. It’s the child one should worry about. What kind of a possible psycho, self-indulgent monster is he gonna end up being after having been raised by a mother like that!?
riiiiight.
I guess the rules don’t apply to mothers with kids.
Everyone else can’t have any liquids with them, but mom and baby? Sure – we’ll overlook it.
And when a terrorist sneaks through using this exploit and releases an airborne toxin into the recirculating air system on an airplane and it goes down, we’ll laugh and laugh at how darned creative these guys can be!
Hooray!
Bottom line – I watched the video. I’m glad the TSA put it out there. They were accused of wrongdoing and responded with video evidence.
The woman made a bunch of claims that were ridiculous and disproven.
She dumped the water out – I don’t care if you think it was a few ounces. Someone could have slipped and fallen, then sued the TSA and the airport. And if it was only a few ounces of water, not a full cup, why did it take almost a half a roll of paper towels to clean up?
Go watch the video, I lost count of the number of sheets of bounty the woman had to use to clean it up.
Bottom line – listen to the TSA and don’t argue. This wouldn’t have been an issue if she had said – OK. I’ll dump it out and come back through the line. My bad.
And she exasperated the incident by removing her kid from the stroller. Why did she do that? Because she knew her kid would likely wander away and make it more difficult. Any person that has ever traveled with a kid knows that the best way to keep a toddler restrained is to keep them in their stroller, not release them while trying to argue with the TSA.
She got what she deserved. Maybe even less.
Like it or not (and I don’t care), the TSA IS the authority. Don’t pull out an expired secret service badge, don’t talk down to them, don’t tell them they are wrong, and don’t throw a hissy fit. COMPLY.
If you get pulled over for speeding, you don’t tell the cop that the law is stupid and doesn’t apply to you. You apologize and comply with them. Argue in court, not with the enforcement officer. And have some damn respect – the TSA agents are doing their job.
This lady was 100% in the WRONG! Say what you want about the TSA, they were RIGHT and I’m glad they posted the video and called this woman out to be the liar she is. She didn’t try to drink it like she claimed and it DIDN’T spill on accident, she CLEARLY spilled it out in frustration. The she had the nerve to play the “do you know who I am” card! I am thrilled they made her clean it up, she needed to be knocked down a few pegs.
I hate to disagree with you guys but I saw that video and I think she deserved it. She is an ex Secret Service member and told security that she should be exempt from the rules. She then preceded to push her way through the checkpoint. When they chased after her and stopped her, she threw a tantrum and poured the water from the sippy cup onto the floor. She got flustered, lost control, and acted like a child. She deserved the treatment she recieved. Nobody is exempt from the rules.