The TSA has uploaded the incident report and surveillance video that they claim shows the “sippy cup terrorist” Mom intentionally dumping her child’s water on the floor of the airport after having claimed “she was an officer and flashed her Secret Service badge and credentials and said that she should be exempt from all this and this was a stupid policy and this whole thing was [redacted].” We’re guessing that last word was bullshit, but like we said, that’s just an educated guess.
The video, which has no sound, is inconclusive. Obviously, you can’t hear what the TSA agents are saying or if they’re threatening the woman with arrest for spilling water. The mom’s original account leaves out the bit about her flashing her Secret Service badge and trying to get special treatment, so who knows. Perhaps she did spill the water on purpose. In the video it looks like she shakes the last few drops out before turning around and trying to get back into the checkpoint.
What we find a bit disturbing is the fact that so few of us nowadays are shocked by the idea that someone could be detained or be threatened with arrest by the government for carrying or spilling tap water. “Those are the rules,” we think.
We do like the new “MythBusters” section of the TSA’s website. Maybe they should hire those kids from the Discovery Channel to see if you can really blow up a plane with the contents of a sippy cup. Admit it. That would be a neat episode. —MEGHANN MARCO
MythBusters [TSA]
PREVIOUSLY: TSA Detains Mother, Threatens Arrest Over Sippy Cup Full of Tap Water
(Photo: TSA)
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This video is pretty ridiculous. Why are they detaining someone and making her go through her bags in the hallway with many people walking around her. Its humiliating, and if they really thought she had a bomb it would be negligent.
If the water was such a hazard why did they let all those people walk over it? There was a police officer on the scene- If she broke some rule by spilling water (by accident or malice), they should have arrested her or cited her. They are not judges, and its an abuse of their power to assign and enforce punishments for what they see as disrespect, especially if it means people can miss flights.
Fact: a woman was harrassed and detained for water in a small child’s cup.
This fact supercedes all following idiocy by either party. Therefore the TSA is 100% to blame.
@jburland: because the TSA agents ARENT flying!
@h_magoo: the problem is with her behavior towards the TSA. They’re the airport security and behaving inappropriately towards security can get you in trouble. Try dumping water on the floor in a club next to a bouncer who’s in front of you.
@bbbici: and the TSA agent was harassed by the badge-wielding lady who also went out to dump water on the floor to publicly humiliate the TSA agent. Who’s to blame now?
@superbmtsub:
To reiterate:
Fact: a woman was harrassed and detained for water in a small child’s cup.
This fact supercedes all following idiocy by either party. Therefore the TSA is 100% to blame.
@bbbici: So it would be different if a male TSA agent detained a male passenger?
FYI, the woman wasnt detained for water in a small child’s cup. She was detained by the female TSA Agent for the water dumped from the small child’s cup to the ground resulting in inappropriate behavior towards the airport security staff.
If I dumped toothpaste on the ground after being told I couldnt take it on the plane, how do you think the TSA agents are going to respond? Also, dumping water on the ground was done to show contempt to the airlines security staff and to simply put them in their place. Any airlines security will detain ppl acting in suspicious manner esp when it involves harassing security.
@bbbici:
Umm. Let’s see. The lady was trying to break a rule we all know about, and have known about, for years. No liquids through the checkpoint. Everyone knows this rule. When I travel and have to go through a checkpoint I stop at the restroom BEFORE going through checkpoint to dump out any water I might have left in my water-bottle, fully knowing I can refill it when I get through.
You’re citing a lady who was detained for breaking the rules and thinking she was above them.
Fact: A women was detained for trying to pass through a check-screen with a banned item.
Whether or not the banned item should be banned isn’t what we’re arguing here.
I follow the rules every time I fly, I make sure I don’t have banned items, and if I do I POLITELY dispose of them in an appropriate way.
This lady got what was coming to her. If I was a screener and she dumped her water on the floor in front of me I’d make her clean it up as well.
@bbbici:
She was detained because she was a moronic rule breaker.
@superbmtsub
A TSA agent is taking a substance/object that is not permitted on an aircraft into a secure area.
Can a TSA agent take a knife through?
A secure area is just that – only objects/substances that have been cleared are allowed in.No exceptions.
Check what the UK do. Staff are handled as passengers are. No exceptions.
I’m aware that the liquid component exposive is an urban myth, but lets assume that a TSA can smuggle ANYTHING through security into a secure/sterile area.
The risks are immense.
Back to you……
“What we find a bit disturbing is the fact that so few of us nowadays are shocked by the idea that someone could be detained or be threatened with arrest by the government for carrying or spilling tap water…”
my thoughts exactly… it’s also disturbing that the tsa seems to have a savvy pr/marketing department that comes up with stuff like:
“Most importantly, you are an essential part of what we do. We strive to balance security with the necessity to treat each of you as if you were our only customer.”
when/how the fuck did i become a customer and if i am, i’d like to immediately cancel the service. thank you.
@jburland: Can a TSA agent take a knife through? If their job permits them to, yes. If it makes you feel any safer, they carry guns. But they’re NOT allowed to “smuggle” in anything into the secure areas. Just whatever’s permitted for their positions.
Yea. I dont really buy into all this over-the-top security measures either but there’s no denying that the “secret service” lady was overstepping her boundaries. Pouring water on the floor? Who does she think she is? A janitor? When you’re in an airport, everybody’s the same. Just cuz you have a SS badge doesnt give you the right to do whatever you feel like.
There are far worse situations of abuse of authority by TSA and you guys are bursting your lungs over a stupid SS-badge-wielding lady who is so used to getting what she wants. Bout time I say.
Generally, this is because the TSA guards are generally black and the people that get on the planes are generally white….
So as you can see, if you put a black person in a position of power over a white person, the black person WILL abuse that power indefinetly.
But as comedy central said….well give them till 2012, which shold be the statute of limitations for any special treatment on racism allogations and the theft…and lazyness….and the foul mouth….o yeah…and the smell, for god sake the smell……
So there you have it..
Also, in my opinion, anyone requesting slavery reparations should also have their citizenship discharged and issued US visas. So in fact they will be treated as african citizens taken against their will, and they are still african citizens. So now it is fair.
@shdwsclan:
I smell some racial prejudice here.
Classy.
@shdwsclan: FYI, the female TSA agent dealing with the “white” lady was also “white”.
Before you jump on another generalization, think of what that same “white” TSA agent would do if YOU dumped water on the ground in front of her?
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO AND COMMENT, MORON!
You know, this weekend I saw a video about a police officer who got pulled over, and proceeded to cuss out and abuse the officer who pulled him over. He got charged with all kinds of things, and decided that it was all because he was black. It was interesting, because he shouldn’t have been pulled over, but he lost all his credibility and almost lost his job because he decided to be a complete jerk.
I don’t care who the person is, TSA isn’t “abusing” authority or “power tripping” if they HAVE the authority and are excercising it.
Disagree with the regulation? That’s fine. Petition, stage protests, argue about it online, I don’t care. Have fun with that, and here’s hoping you make a difference.
But when you break a rule you should graciously accept the consequences. That’s called being a responsible adult. This woman broke a rule, and since neither her account or the TSA’s seem to remotely match, or match the video, I’d say that while the TSA probably got snippy and rude with her, and while the sippy cup isn’t really a big deal there’s just one final fact that shouldn’t be ignored:
SHE BROKE A RULE. She knew the rule and broke it anyway. When you read her accout, you can tell she was an “entitlement” type who felt that the rules shouldn’t apply to her. If this is because she was retired secret service or whatever doesn’t matter. She felt entitled when she wasn’t.
SHE COPPED AN ATTITUDE. If someone in a position of authority is being rude to you, the best defense you have is to be polite and refuse to rise to their bait. Be nice and smile and nod, give them no reason to do anything else to you. Make yourself so clearly the victim that nobody could blame you for whatever happens.
Instead, this woman opened herself up to criticisms and now she ends up looking like just as much of a fool.
Good job lady, nice example you’re setting.
Be an adult, accept consequences, and if you disagree with rules and regulations fight them through perfectly legal channels and make sure you are without blame. Otherwise, you get nowhere.
I’m inclined to take the TSA side here. This transcript from Fox News was pretty slanted (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,284359,00.html). Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s Fox News. But this is different. This is like, Nancy Grace slanted! I hate cable news … and people with egos and attitudes who flash badges and don’t think the rules apply to them.
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@tom55522: Certain federal agents are allowed to carry sidearms onto commercial airflights. I don’t know if the U.S. Secret Service is one such agency (It would make a lot of sense to me). I doubt this woman is a federal agent, especially since it hasn’t been confirmed to this point, but if she was and if they are one of the so-empowered agencies, it would make no sense to me that she could cary a gun onto a plane but not a sippy cup of liquid. (In our bureaucracy, though, I’d believe it.)