Woman Declines Tsa Breast Exam,drives Home

Aug 20, 2002
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Woman Upset With Screener's Request To Feel Her Breasts
Kingsford Drives Home Rather Than Submit To Airport Search

POSTED: 8:55 am PDT October 11, 2004
UPDATED: 3:15 pm PDT October 11, 2004

SAN DIEGO -- A woman said she drove home from Denver rather than submit to what she viewed as an intrusive search by airport security screeners.




Ava Kingsford, 36, of San Diego said she was flagged down for a pat-down search at Denver International Airport last month as she prepared to board a flight home with her 3-month-old son.

Kingsford objected when a female screener with the Transportation Security Administration told her, "I'm going to feel your breasts now."

"She was patting me down, and frisking me, and basically covering all parts of my body, my legs, and wanding me with the security wand. And when I thought she had completed her search, she looks at me and said, 'I'm going to be feeling your breasts now,'" Kingsford said. "I was stunned, and I said, 'I beg your pardon?!'"

Kingsford said when she told the screener that she was uncomfortable with it, more security agents and police officers arrived. They told her that she couldn't board her flight without submitting to the final step of the search.

"I was shaking, I was sobbing. I couldn't believe that this was happening to me. It was surreal. It was like out of a movie, with these guys yelling at me, telling me that, yes, she has to feel my breasts or I'm not getting on my airplane," Kingsford said.

They took her to a private area to continue the search, but she said she was still uncomfortable with them touching her breasts so she tugged down her shirt to show them that she wasn't hiding anything.

"And then they said, 'That's it. We're not going to complete the search and you're not boarding your plane,'" Kingsford said. "They escorted us out and said they didn't care how we got home, it wasn't their problem."

She and her fiance ended up renting a car for the 15-hour drive home.

The Transportation Security Administration said its screeners did nothing wrong.

The agency announced extra security measures last month in the wake of the mid-air bombing of two Russian jetliners. Authorities believe two women smuggled explosives onto the aircraft, possibly in "torso packs" underneath their clothing.

Bob Kapp, customer service manager for the TSA in Denver, said that to conduct a thorough pat-down search of women, "it does require going beneath, between and above the breasts."

Kapp said a few people have been a little bit alarmed by the procedure. But he called it "a sign of the times" that is probably here to stay.

Kingsford said she's anxious about boarding another flight any time soon.

"I don't see how they can get away with feeling women's breasts. I don't see how they can say it's part of their new security policy. It's an infringement, a violation, in my opinion. It's just wrong," Kingsford said.

Kingsford said she had nothing to hide, and the TSA agents could plainly see that.

"I was wearing a pretty form-fitting tank top. There's nothing really to be hiding. You could see my figure. I didn't have any packs. She had patted down my torso. She had completed the torso pat down and wanded me with a security wand but some reason she said she wanted to see my breasts," Kingsford said.

"It was uncomfortable and I felt violated. And the way we were treated when I didn't concede was like I was a criminal. It was an awful experience," she said.

whatkindoffreshhell asks: how long before a body cavity search is required for a boarding pass?
 
whatkindoffreshhell said:
Woman Upset With Screener's Request To Feel Her Breasts
Kingsford Drives Home Rather Than Submit To Airport Search

POSTED: 8:55 am PDT October 11, 2004
UPDATED: 3:15 pm PDT October 11, 2004

SAN DIEGO -- A woman said she drove home from Denver rather than submit to what she viewed as an intrusive search by airport security screeners.
Ava Kingsford, 36, of San Diego said she was flagged down for a pat-down search at Denver International Airport last month as she prepared to board a flight home with her 3-month-old son.

Kingsford objected when a female screener with the Transportation Security Administration told her, "I'm going to feel your breasts now."

"She was patting me down, and frisking me, and basically covering all parts of my body, my legs, and wanding me with the security wand. And when I thought she had completed her search, she looks at me and said, 'I'm going to be feeling your breasts now,'" Kingsford said. "I was stunned, and I said, 'I beg your pardon?!'"

Kingsford said when she told the screener that she was uncomfortable with it, more security agents and police officers arrived. They told her that she couldn't board her flight without submitting to the final step of the search.

"I was shaking, I was sobbing. I couldn't believe that this was happening to me. It was surreal. It was like out of a movie, with these guys yelling at me, telling me that, yes, she has to feel my breasts or I'm not getting on my airplane," Kingsford said.

They took her to a private area to continue the search, but she said she was still uncomfortable with them touching her breasts so she tugged down her shirt to show them that she wasn't hiding anything.

"And then they said, 'That's it. We're not going to complete the search and you're not boarding your plane,'" Kingsford said. "They escorted us out and said they didn't care how we got home, it wasn't their problem."

She and her fiance ended up renting a car for the 15-hour drive home.

The Transportation Security Administration said its screeners did nothing wrong.

The agency announced extra security measures last month in the wake of the mid-air bombing of two Russian jetliners. Authorities believe two women smuggled explosives onto the aircraft, possibly in "torso packs" underneath their clothing.

Bob Kapp, customer service manager for the TSA in Denver, said that to conduct a thorough pat-down search of women, "it does require going beneath, between and above the breasts."

Kapp said a few people have been a little bit alarmed by the procedure. But he called it "a sign of the times" that is probably here to stay.

Kingsford said she's anxious about boarding another flight any time soon.

"I don't see how they can get away with feeling women's breasts. I don't see how they can say it's part of their new security policy. It's an infringement, a violation, in my opinion. It's just wrong," Kingsford said.

Kingsford said she had nothing to hide, and the TSA agents could plainly see that.

"I was wearing a pretty form-fitting tank top. There's nothing really to be hiding. You could see my figure. I didn't have any packs. She had patted down my torso. She had completed the torso pat down and wanded me with a security wand but some reason she said she wanted to see my breasts," Kingsford said.

"It was uncomfortable and I felt violated. And the way we were treated when I didn't concede was like I was a criminal. It was an awful experience," she said.

whatkindoffreshhell asks: how long before a body cavity search is required for a boarding pass?
[post="190156"][/post]​

This is the price we all have to pay in this new terroristic world.
Some will always feel they are above the rest who co-operate for the well being of everyone.
She decided to drive to keep from gettig the exam. that was her only choice if she wanted to fly. End of story.
 
I hope she gets used to the good ol' road trip.... it seems people who can't adapt to the new system will have to figure out alternative modes of transportation!
 
USAir757 said:
I hope she gets used to the good ol' road trip.... it seems people who can't adapt to the new system will have to figure out alternative modes of transportation!
[post="190764"][/post]​

What? Like her tits were going to explode so they had to feel her up? I mean give me a break. TSA stands for Tits Squeezed At Random. Thanks for the mammorys... :p
 
What? Like her tits were going to explode so they had to feel her up? I mean give me a break.

I don't care. We can't trust anyone anymore, and if TSA can't search there because they're "violating someone's rights", well then wouldn't that just be a great place to hide a weapon? And if you can't handle it, then don't fly... it's really quite simple.
 
USAir757 said:
I don't care. We can't trust anyone anymore, and if TSA can't search there because they're "violating someone's rights", well then wouldn't that just be a great place to hide a weapon? And if you can't handle it, then don't fly... it's really quite simple.
[post="191982"][/post]​

Okay. Then I say have a gonad screening too. Fair is fair. Tits and balls.
 
I hate to have to keep bringing this up, but we need to remember that the terrorists on 9/11 were able to take over those airplanes because the weapons they used were not prohibited. They were not prohibited because we did not imagine that someone wielding knives under four inches would be a threat and we did not want the inconvenience of leaving our penknives at home. We were shortsighted and we were wrong.

After I came to commercial aviation, I was always amazed at some of the weapons that people were allowed to bring on board aircraft. I once saw an older gentleman, perhaps a WWII vet, arguing with a flight attendant because he couldn't find a place in the overhead bin for the samurai sword he had brought on board, after passing through security apparently without comment. The Captain intervened and the sword rode in the cargo bin.

Every day I go to work I pass through security, seeing the same TSA screeners usually, and every time I am subjected to the same level of security, and searched as if it were the first time they had ever seen me, and I do so gladly. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a firm supporter of individual rights, but I feel that there are times when the rights of the group override the rights of the individual and airline security is one of those times.

When I have seen passengers being taken aside for a physical search, or when I have been so selected myself, it has been done by a TSA screener of the same gender and done in a manner calculated to cause the least discomfot and embarrasment to the person being searched. While no one would wish to submit to such a search, anyone who does not understand the need for them is living in denial.

If someone does not wish to submit themselves to security as it currently exists, I suggest they find alternate modes of travel. We cannot compromise the security of the many for then needs of the few again.
 
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