The purpose of this emailed letter is to file a complaint about inappropriate behavior of TSA employees and the Philadelphia airport police on Monday, April 5, 2010 at the Philadelphia airport. My trip originated on a US Airways flight from Barcelona, Spain at 10:30 a.m. local time and continued through Philadelphia. The plane arrived late in Philadelphia which necessitated my flight out of Philadelphia to San Diego being changed from 3:35 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. After 18 hours, I arrived at San Diego to find my bags were lost. I finally got my bags more than two days later. The contents seemed disheveled, the outside was damaged, and the strap was missing.
The incident occurred while I was going through a transit security screening area in Phildelphia. To the best of my recollection and according to my notes, it was a transit screening area between Gates B & C. The time of the incident was approximately 3:15 p.m. and went on for several hours.
It is important for you to review the video and audio security tape of what happened that day. I am 63 years old. I have metal knees and metal in my back, which usually triggers the alarm and requires me to go through a secondary security check. This time, the TSA person took me into a glass cage to conduct the wanding with a metal detector. She told me to spread my legs. There is a mat on the floor with pictures of footprints where my feet were to be placed. However, when I placed my feet there, I was told to spread my legs wider than the foot patterns on the floor. I did as I was told. She then moved the stick up into my crotch, where the metal detector came into contact in the area of my vagina. It was not an inadvertent touch. The video will show when the stick was placed in my crotch that I jumped back. I was shocked. I then asked for someone else to finish the task. I did not want that person to touch me again. The TSA person then became rude. When I first tried to report the incident, the TSA agent went out, told others I assumed were her peers, and they were all laughing. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, a lady with short gray hair came in and started rolling her eyes in disgust.
At some point my passport was taken away from me, and a big deal was made about them having it and that "I wasn't going anywhere".
When each person reported it to the next person, they embellished it a bit until it came back to me that I "refused to go through the procedure or process" I forget which term they used. I already had, but I was made to go through it again, and later went through it for a third time. I then asked for another supervisor. A person named Shiela Woods came but did nothing. As the first security person walked out of the glass room, she stood with at least 7 other employees who seemed to instantly appear and lined up outside the glass room laughing and mocking me.
The police were called. I was not privy to the conversations outside the glass room. When badge #6087 came in, I asked him why he was called. He ignored me, but demanded information from me. When I again asked what the questioning was for, he just stared at me. As he filed the report, I asked for a copy and was told I could go online to find out how to get a copy. He was very rude. I asked for the online address from the officer (badge #6087), but he ignored my request. He was standing right next to me. There is no chance he did not hear me. I do not know why this information was obtained, where it was sent, and why he refused to provide information to me so I could obtain a copy.
From that time on, I was surrounded and guarded at all times by police and TSA employees. I was not allowed to leave the glass cage. During this time, both the TSA and the police were rude, verbally abusive and obnoxious. Passengers who were going through the security lines right next to me were staring. I was treated in a way I felt a suspected terrorist would be treated.
And remember, I initiated a complaint. I did nothing wrong. Reporting this incident resulted in me being verbally attacked, interrogated, harassed, detained, humiliated and threatened
Because I reported this incident, I was immediately treated like a criminal. A criminal background check was immediately run on me. When they found nothing, I was required to give my social security number out loud in a room with several strangers. . I asked the officer if I was required to give this information and why he needed this information but he refused to answer my questions. As with the criminal check, my social security number was put in a laptop-type machine. I feel my social security number is no longer secure. Of course, they found nothing. My passport was confiscated, and a big deal was made as they told me I "was going nowhere" while the TSA kept my passport. My driver's license was taken and the information was inputed into the portable computer looking for yet another criminal trail. Again, none was found.
No one would take a report on what happened to me, but about 5 separate reports were made about me which I believe were in retaliation. Every person refused to review the video tape until much later when, at my request, the Desk Sergeant was called.
When I said I wanted to file a complaint, the first police officer (badge #6087), said he was calling backup who would be "transporting" me to the police station to make a victim's report. I was told they notified US Airline that I was being detained by TSA and the Philadelphia police and to not expect me on my scheduled flight. They were simply attempting to make me miss my flight for reporting the inappropriate activities by the TSA employee.
At one point I was told I was going to be arrested because I refused to go through security. Each time, I forcefully replied that I had been through the same security procedure not one, but three times, and to look at the security video. However, they refused. I believe they were trying everything they could to arrest me.
I tried to report this over and over again during the time I was detained, but my attempts were ignored and I then became the object of verbal attacks, lies, threats, harassment, and humiliation. No one would take a report about what happened to me. I was finally tossed a card with an email address on it and told I could call the 800 number if I wanted to in order to file a complaint.
I then remembered in working with various police departments with child protective services reporting and as a school counselor and professor of school counseling and school psychology that there is a Desk Sergeant who is a supervisor with the police. I requested the Desk Sergeant be called. Finally he was. Thankfully, he was the only person with common sense, and the only decent guy out of the whole bunch. He took charge, reviewed the video, and then walked back into the glass cage where I was being held, and told me I was free to go. I didn't get his name, but I am grateful to him. No one apologized or made any attempt to rectify what they did to me.
Although I asked for names and business cards, I got very few. The first thing usually asked when there is an incident is what were the names of those involved. In this case, most refused, saying things like, "you don't need my name', etc. The few I did get were:
1. Shiela A. Woods - gave me her business card. She is the supervisor of the TSA worker who inappropriately wanded me with the metal detector. She did nothing.
2. Mike, one of the TSA people who would not give me his name, business card or contact number. He kept telling me "he" hadn't decided yet whether or not I was going to be able to get on my plane to go home. He spoke to me in an abusive and condescending manner. His manner sent a message to the others that it was OK to be abusive to me. Of all the awful people in the Philadelphia airport that day, he was the worst. His ego is much bigger than his brain. Of course he said he viewed the security tape and said he found nothing wrong. Is he an example of the best that TSA can hire? Security is a primary importance and we need intelligent and competent people at security points overseeing and supervising these activities. He is not one of them. I found out later he is Shiela Woods' supervisor.
3. Man in a blue jumpsuit. He was a rude TSA employee who refused to give me his name or business card.
4. An airport police officer, badge number # 6087. He was rude and inept. He was the person who kept trying to arrest me. He had a filthy mouth and spoke to me in a threatening manner.
By the time I finally got on the plane, I was so upset from the indignity and false accusations along with the shameful way I was treated and the attempts to have me miss my flight, that I had chest pains, difficulty breathing and palpitations almost all the way to California, although I was too fearful to say anything.
It is correct and responsible to report inappropriate incidents by TSA employees at a security checkpoint. Passengers should never be discouraged, harassed, ridiculed, interrogated or investigated for this. The whole bunch exhibited very little common sense, decency or respect.
So the clear message is that if you are going through Philadelphia airport and are inappropriately touched by a TSA employee, be prepared to be harassed, intimidated, falsely accused, interrogated, investigated, embarrassed, threatened, talked to rudely, and yelled at if you report it.
The bumbling and bungling of these people was alarming. Then they had the gall to blame that on me--I held things up. What a disgrace!!!! Each person I spoke with tried to escalate this to a higher level to cover for the prior person. How terrible! The way everyone covered for everyone else was disgusting
Something is very wrong at the Philadelphia airport. Whatever I reported was not only not acted upon-it was denied. When I told Ms. Woods that there were 5 or 6 TES agents behind her laughing and patting the original TSA agent on the back, she looked around, saw them, looked back and said she didn't see anything. That is how every incident went. Shameful. Shame on you, Philadelphia. I'm sure this represents a small group of renegade employees of the TSA and the Philadelphia police, but hey should be held accountable.
Airport security is a very serious matter. It is disheartening to find the TSA and airport police to be so blatantly bad. Philadelphia, you are better than that, but I saw the worst of Philadelphia today. I await your response.
Sincerely,
Dr. Nancy Phillips
TSA then wrote the following response to Dr. Nancy Phillips:
Re: TSA Complaint <<#465239-590431#>>
InboxX
Reply TSA-ContactCenter to me
show details Apr 9
Thank you for your email message. We are sorry you were unhappy with your recent travel experience.
Because your complaint is regarding screening at PHL, we have forwarded a copy of your email to the Customer Service Manager at that airport. The Customer Service Manager is responsible for ensuring that the screener workforce adheres to TSA principles for professional processing.
We monitor the number and nature of complaints we receive to track trends and spot areas of concern that may require special attention. This ongoing process will enable us to ensure prompt, corrective action whenever we determine that security-screening policies need modification or specific employees or screener teams are the subjects of repeated complaints.
Again, the TSA offers sincere apologies for the discomfort you experienced while traveling and encourage you to check the latest information at www.tsa.gov.
TSA Contact Center
As of today, June 8, 2010, Dr. Phillips has not heard back from the Customer Service Manager at the Philadelphia airport.
*****
Daniel Rubin, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote the following article on Nancy Phillip's experience; it was published on June 14, 2010. There were a few statements made by Mr. Rubin that were objected by Ms. Phillips; her statements have been included in bold type.
Nancy Anne Phillips, a 63-year-old retired professor from Southern California, was passing through Philadelphia in April when, she says, she had one of those nightmares at the airport that give this city a bad name.
Her knees have been replaced with titanium, and a metal plate supports her back. She's used to setting off alarms.
But she's not used to the sort of screening she experienced April 5 when a Transportation Security Administration worker motioned Phillips to the side for a secondary screening. Phillips says the screener's metal-detecting wand went north of the retirees knees and brushed against her crotch. Nancy Phillips commented: "She (the TSA agent) then moved the stick up into my crotch, where the metal detector came into contact in the area of my vagina. It was not an inadvertent touch. The video (which was destroyed by the TSA) will show when the stick was placed in my crotch that I jumped back. I was shocked... The overriding issue here is the erasing of the video tapes. As soon as TSA did that, they indicted themselves. If they acted appropriately they would want the tapes to prove their point. The proof was in the tapes. Destroying them negates every accusation and statement the TSA and police made."
Phillips jumped, aghast.
And when she asked for a different female screener, she says, a standoff led to her being detained for nearly two hours - until a Philadelphia police sergeant sent her on her way.
Phillips says her problem was not having metal implants; it was complaining. Because she rocked the boat, she says, she was threatened, accused, harassed, and humiliated. Nancy Phillips wrote: "I never said this happened because I complained. I reported a serious incident. I never made the statement about "rocking the boat".
"Something is very wrong at the Philadelphia airport . . .," she wrote me. "Shameful. Shame on you, Philadelphia. I'm sure this represents a small group of renegade employees of the TSA and the Philadelphia police, but they should be held accountable."
TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis says her agency has a starkly different view of what happened. She says statements from TSA employees portray Phillips as "defensive and uncooperative." And videotape showed nothing wrong with the initial screening, Davis said.
But she says that tape has been destroyed according to airport policy, which calls for erasure of most digital recordings after 30 days.
We'll go back to that part later.
Phillips was flying from Barcelona, Spain, to San Diego, changing planes in Philadelphia. A Ph.D. in education from Claremont Graduate University, she works as a school psychologist and was reading reports in the air when not watching episodes of Nip/Tuck.
She cleared customs and wound up at a TSA screening area between Gates B and C by 3:40 p.m. After the alarm went off, she recalls, she told the screener, "It's my knees." The screener, a woman, directed Phillips to an area no more than 10 feet away, in view of other passengers.
Phillips saw the outlines of two feet on a mat below her, so she opened her stance to accommodate the screener. "Wider," she recalls the woman saying. After the wand brushed her pants at the crotch, she asked if someone else could finish the screening.
That's where accounts diverge. "Each person I spoke to tried to escalate this to a higher level to cover for the prior person," Phillips says, and no TSA employee would take a report of her complaint.
She was screened twice more after refusing to go into a private room, which to her felt unsafe. Nancy Phillips reported: "I was offered a private screening room for one of the screenings. It was offered to me as a courtesy. At no time was it required and at no time did I refuse. I was simply asked if I would like to go to a private room to finish the screening. I did not want to go anywhere out of public view. I did not refuse. It was not required. Again, it was offered to me. I wanted to remain out in public areas and at no time did TSA react or respond as if that was not acceptable to do so." She was told her airline was on notice that she was being detained. A TSA supervisor named Mike told her that he "hadn't decided yet whether or not I was going to be able to get on my plane to go home," she says.
A police officer came and ran a background check. "I felt like I was treated like a terrorist," Phillips says. He asked her if she wanted to make a criminal complaint. She didn't.
Davis, of the TSA, says that even before the screening, Phillips had caught the attention of airline officials. A US Airways supervisor told her that Phillips was "irate" when her flight from Spain arrived late and she was told she would have to take a later plane to San Diego.
The video, Davis adds, shows that the initial screener held the wand correctly, horizontally, and that Phillips reacted before any unwelcome contact was made.
"It was like she was anticipating a negative experience," Davis says, "vs. actually having one."
Phillips asked that a police sergeant get involved. He reviewed what had happened, then told her she was free to go.
"Looks like you had a few personalities that clashed," says Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman.
I agree, although it's hard to get to the bottom of what happened. Was Phillips a difficult passenger who was already agitated over having to take a later flight? Or was she a distressed passenger with a valid complaint, who couldn't get anyone to listen?
What is beyond dispute is this: The TSA should have to keep the tapes. Particularly when a complaint has been lodged. Particularly at an airport that's been such rich fodder for columns this year, what with the University of Michigan student who had a bag of white powder planted in her bag by a joking TSA employee, and the 4-year-old disabled boy made to walk without his leg braces through the metal detectors.
One other case has particular relevance - that of Nadine Pellegrino, a Florida businesswoman jailed for 17 hours after she objected to a screening by TSA workers who say she assaulted them.
Once Municipal Judge Thomas F. Gehret heard that the TSA had erased the tape of Pellegrino, he threw out the charges against her because she'd been denied the best evidence. Her record has been expunged.
In that case, airport security manager Renee Tufts testified that the electronic memory required to keep all tapes was not within the city's budget.
"With all the stuff that is happening, I would think you'd want to keep it. You could keep that forever," Gehret said. He was talking about terrorism. But he could have been talking about complaints like Phillips'.
