ABC news reported Thursday that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has apologized to a Missouri couple after its agents traumatized the family’s 3-year-old, wheelchair-bound daughter, Lucy Schulte during a screening and taking her stuffed animal Lamby, even though it already had been scanned.
The parents did not like that request, and wanted to record the pat down on their cell phone. The TSA agent that filming at checkpoint was illegal.
However, according to the TSA's website,
"TSA does not prohibit the public, passengers or press from photographing, videotaping or filming at security checkpoints, as long as the screening process is not interfered with or slowed down."
You can watch the video to the left of this article.
Although the TSA released an apology the next day, claiming "TSA regrets inaccurate guidance was provided to this family during screening and offers its apology. We are committed to maintaining the security of the traveling public and strive to treat all passengers with dignity and respect. While no pat-down was performed, we will address specific concerns with our workforce."
Even though the TSA claims this case was "inaccurate guidance", this is not the first or even second time a disabled passenger, especially a child, has been detained by the TSA.
There was the time the agency detained an 18-month-old because her name appeared on the no-fly list.
Last year, another three year old in a wheel chair was detained and traumatized on his way to Disney World. The TSA never released a statement for that particular case.
There was the Michigan cancer survivor whose bladder bag burst during an inspection. And our own senior airline correspondent Barbara Peterson worked undercover for the TSA and recalls several times she was chastised for being "too easy" on fliers in wheelchairs.
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