Consumerist
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!'"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"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."
Nightmare at Reagan National Airport: A Security Story to End all Security Stories [NowPublic via BoingBoing]
Comments
Jeez, Consumerist (and Meghann especially) -- why do you hate America?
Can we organize a boycott of all flights until further notice?
If you were treated this badly, I wouldn't go to that airport again. Ever.
i'm surprised this happened at reagan. when i fly, i find that the tsa is far meaner/on a power trip at smaller airports, when they have a lot of passengers to clear.
that being said, the tsa officer sounds completely unreasonable. i hope she got a name/supervisor contact and complains to both them and her congressman.
@Beerad: STFU.
Please tell us you got a name!
* a lot fewer
i guess the post above didn't make too much sense!
And this story has what to do with consumerism? C'mon, it only gives one pissed off parent's side of the story. Unless you live in a cave, everyone knows by now the liquid restrictions. That sippy cup pictured holds at least 8-10 ounces. The mother should have known better. And she thinks she is in the position to "demand" to see a supervisor? What for? She screwed up.
Could the situation been handled better? Yes. Could it have been avoided completely if mommy did not have a brain fart? Absolutely.
1st time flying?
I wonder what would happen if you asked for their identification and told them it was so you could file a formal complaint against them? Do you think they would suddenly become Mr. Nice Guy, or detain you for 40 hours with full cavity searches all around? Anyone wanna give it a try?
unless you have been on another planet for the last year every traveller in the country knows that you cant take liquids past security. People who "suddenly realise" they have liquids do not have my sympathy - same as the people who suddenly seem put out to have to put their possessions through the scanner or take their shoes off - think 2 minutes ahead and this situation (and most other airport 'security' horror stories could have been avoided). If you really couldnt remember not to take liquid through, then well, Its just a sippy cup - let them take it and move on... you probably caused more stress to your child and embarrassment to yourself by making a scene in an airport over a plastic cup...
Is this ridiculous? Yes. Is it unfair? Yes. Could this situation have been avoided? 100%...
Why do people refuse to follow rules, get into (moronic) arguments with bullish egomaniac governments types, then cry fowl. If the woman would have followed rules in the first place, none of this would have happened.
I just realized rbb said the same thing above me...
The TSA crossed the not so fine line between security and dementia/paranoia a long time ago.
OK, so the mom didn't show a lot of smarts in (a) bringing the sippy cup full of water; and (b) getting pissy with the TSA uberlords.
But TSA is out of control. The rules change constantly, and some of the screeners are so capricious and drunk with their bestowed authority and power that they add to travelers' problems rather than enhancing safety.
If everybody showed a little common sense, travel would definitely be easier and would probably be safer (seeing as how they might free up time and resources going after terrorists and not toddlers with sippy-cups).
@Fuzz:
How is that relavant? The TSA's were doing there job. If your job was dealing with thousands of retards on a daily basis, you would be a little edgy too. (Everyone wants to be the exception)
Naysayers will come back with the "find a new job", or "they don't have to be dicks" argument - which is as intelligent as trying to break the rules in the first place.
These TSA Screening agents worked hard to get their GED's and then show up for the hour long training session. You need to understand they are highly trained and educated people. They know better than you.
@Buran: "STFU."
Ummm, thanks for playing, but you lose.
[en.wikipedia.org]
@joeblevins:
How are a TSA's qualifications relevant to the guidelines they are hired to enforce?
@masonreloaded:
You know, I think some people just don't pay attention. Seriously, some people seem ignorant to the world around them.
I was in San Francisco's airport, and this lady was amazed that non-ticketed passengers couldn't go past security. She asked "how long has that rule been in effect?" How could you miss the 90 signs say that, let alone all the media coverage when that rule was created.
The second example I have, is recently my train home had one of it's stops platform cut in half. So only the last 4 would make it. The engineer/conductors made this announcement probably 15-20 times in the time it took to get to that stop. Also, there had been signs for a week about it, and also general platform announcements. Anyways, when the stop came, people still were in the wrong cars. Not off by one or 2 cars, off by 5 or 6 cars.
My point is, a lot of people just don't pay attention, and then get mad at someone else when they are to blame. I used to see it when I worked in a grocery store all time.
Though, the TSA, and it sounds like more so the police were in the wrong here big time. I feel bad for the way they treated the lady, but I would like to hear the other side of the story, just to see if she was screaming at them the whole time.
@bedofnails:
I don't have a problem with them doing there job, but they don't need to be dicks about it. Why not let her drink the water and let her be on her way? Instead, they figured it would be better to waste everyones time and send her back through an already crowded security checkpoint, and waste the time of an inspector for 40 minutes.
There is clearly not enough common sense in this world.
it's simple. you find out the name of the TSA agent(s), then you have their entire family, pets, and friends tortured and killed.
It's simple. You find out the names of the TSA agents, then have all their family, friends, and pets tortured and killed.
FYI, in most of the rest of the world, the stupid liquids restriction does not even exist.
I don't feel that sorry for her.... was the f**ing sippy cup made out of gold?
The "terrorists" have already won. That's all there is to it. Everyone is far too afraid far too often. It's ridiculous, plain and simple.
Answer me this: Who benefited from the TSA officials' actions? Who?
No one.
Too bad they weren't handling me.....I would have called in the next day and demanded that EVERY screener at that airport be fired, and I'd personally make sure of it. Just to get back at that one person. Oh and the next person they'd hear from would be the attorney general. Yes, I'd file CRIMINAL charges for harassment and whatever else. Not to mention the fact that I'd seek monetary damages in civil court. My mom almost fainted in one of those puffer things at SFO, and the TSA guys were begging her not to sue them (assign two people to hold her bags for her and stuff) until the moment she boarded the plane.
Why wouldn't she give up the sippy cup? Was it made out of gold? Perhaps she spoils the child because she isn't married?
Seriously, this seems like another case of parent entitlement -- doesn't she know that women with babies are used to thwart security by all manners of criminals?
@Beerad: That's good stuff...
Like the man said, freedom isn't free. Even 40-something blondes with toddlers have to pay.
@Fuzz:
I totally agree with you, it obviously just became a circle jerk, with TSA's being dicks for the sake of being dicks. However, from reading the article, it's also apparent that the woman in question did nothing to help her case; say for instance by shutting her mouth.
Anytime you read someone's account of an incident, and 93% of the sentences start with "I" - you get a pretty good sense of said authors perception of a given situation.
@IRSistherootofallevil:
But the TSA's don't work for Walmart.
I can't stand when these types of people think they are above the law. The lady obviously has no respect for the law or other passangers. I think the treatment she recieved was well deserved. I'm not going to give somebody a hard time for trying to do their job and PROTECT the passangers.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most people who are claiming that this woman is an idiot have never traveled with a toddler. It's easy to get distracted and to forget things. Anyone who has spent a minute around a toddler knows that THEY WANT THEIR SIPPYCUPS WAAAAAAAAAH! You just don't make a kid part with his sippy cup. Or you do, but you don't get to complain as the little bastard screams his head off for the entire flight.
Nothing about this situation makes it appear as though the TSA officials were acting in accordance with their own rules of conduct. In any case, the woman was NOT obliged to apologize to the officers for spilling water.
@Beerad: Ummm, thanks for playing, but "I was trying to be funny" isn't an excuse.
@rbb: There are exceptions for childrens' drinks.
I don't fly anymore. I don't intend to fly anymore. I don't know what else I can do.
Couldn't all of this been avoided if she had just followed the rules?
Based on her melodramatic descriptions of her son crying for his ba-ba and sitting shoeless in the stroller (oh, the humanity!) it sounds like she is just another American momzilla who thinks she is entitled to special treatment.
Perhaps some people do belive the TSA specialists did act incorrectly in making the woman clean up after her own spill, but the rules are there for a reason and nobody is entitled to special treatment.
well, i'm feeling safer already.
Why did they start xraying luggage when MUSLIMS with arab names blew up the PanAm jet above the UK?
Why did they start screening everything and everyone by had when MUSLIMS with arab names blew up the wtc?
Why did they start disallowing water and liquids when MUSLIMS were planning to mix explosives onboard, NOTE that this is similar to panAM.
Why did they start to xray people after MUSLIMS blew up the wtc? [Yes they are gonna start doing that]
Why are they giving everyone free colonoscopies at the airport because MUSLIMS tried to blow up a plane with an xray proof plastic ass-bomb ?[Soom]
So why screen everyone else ? WHY? What the hell is the point ?
We, at BWI, have an idiot of a TSA agent who rides his scooter at full speed scaring people around support poles while he hits on the airline agents.
He looks twelve!
If its such a problem traveling with a toddler, she should've thought of that before hand. Anyways, a plane is no place for a baby. They go nuts when their ears start popping.
Why did they start xraying luggage when MUSLIMS with arab names blew up the PanAm jet above the UK?
Why did they start screening everything and everyone by had when MUSLIMS with arab names blew up the wtc?
Why did they start disallowing water and liquids when MUSLIMS were planning to mix explosives onboard, NOTE that this is similar to panAM.
Why did they start to xray people after MUSLIMS blew up the wtc? [Yes they are gonna start doing that]
Why are they giving everyone free colonoscopies at the airport because MUSLIMS tried to blow up a plane with an xray proof plastic ass-bomb ?[Soom]
So why are they screening everyone else?
Airport security isn't exactly where you go to make the big bucks. Most of the people working there are in it for the badge and the sense of authority, and that's about it.
I also smell a lawsuit. There's zealous enforcement of security, and then there's just good, ol'-fashioned harassment.
(Incidentally, the whole "liquids on a plane" rule would be completely hysterical if the TSA weren't so ridiculously serious about it.)
Quoting from the original article:
"Monica wanted the cup back because the sippy cup was the only way her son would drink -- and it was a long flight between Washington, DC and Reno, Nevada where she was going for a family reunion. If you've ever had a toddler you understand about sippy cups."
I have a niece the same age and just two months ago flew with her, alone, on two flights that spanned about 5 hours. There is absolutely nothing unreasonable about asking that she keep the cup, even if she gets to dump it or guzzle it herself.
I would have been lost without it with my niece -- for one thing when they bite down on the softer top kind it helps them with the pressure in their ears (the same way an older person will yawn to pop them or chew gum or such on descent) and secondly dealing with keeping my niece hydrated during the long day would have been much harder with the cocktail cups they give you on the flight.
So yeah -- the woman asked for her toddler's cup back and some agents went on a crazy power trip.
This is ridiculous and these "security measures" really don't a) protect us any better than before 9/11 and b) are quite out of control.
@Buran: It is when he was, in fact, funny. You just didn't get it.
@arachnophilia: I lol'd at the one too. Maybe Buran will get your comment?
The rules are stupid, the TSA is a bunch of idiot jackasses. Why do we as citizens allow this joke of a system to continue?
I don't agree with what TSA did. It was way overboard. At the same time, I want to ask her why she was carrying a liquid at that point. With the exception of medical needs (which usually are either clearly marked, or you bring notice), and pumped breast milk, you're not supposed to have unidentified liquids. Small toiletry items, in a plastic bag, are allowed, but that's it. No water bottles, no sports bottles, no sippy cups.
Should they have treated her as harshly as they did? No. But she could have avoided the whole incident by not having the cup full of water at that point.
I've flown more since TSA was instituted than any time before, and most of it is easy to get through if you follow the rules and think it through.
@