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IP: Contact info incl if you need it -- Woman contends that officials did nothing about airport frisking
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 10:35:15 -0500
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_978447,00 .html Woman contends that officials did nothing about airport frisking By Ann Imse, News Staff Writer Gay Unglesby says she walked down the jetway at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to her Denver-bound flight in tears Dec. 26, after a male Argenbright screener's frisking went way over the line. The kind of groping Unglesby says she endured can be found under in Colorado's criminal code under the description for minor sexual assault. But from Dec. 26 until Friday afternoon, no matter where she complained, no one took notice. The Federal Aviation Administration did nothing -- even though a sympathetic listener on its complaint hotline said the FAA has received hundreds of such complaints, Unglesby said. Argenbright Security sent her to its insurer -- and he was just rude, she said. Delta Airlines employees who saw her immediately after the incident were sympathetic, and the airline has sent her a formal apology. Delta's customer care staff "was empathetic and appalled but told me it was out of their control," Unglesby said. The Department of Transportation did nothing. Unglesby said a DOT official told her there was no law forcing the airlines to use same-sex screeners for frisking. No one offered to fix the problem. Unglesby says she didn't think to call the district attorney or police and ask that criminal charges be filed against the screener. The Association of Flight Attendants also has complained to the DOT about its members being inappropriately touched during frisking. A spokeswoman said they received a letter from DOT Secretary Norman Mineta saying DOT had told airlines and airports fondling and groping is wrong -- but they were still awaiting action. When the Rocky Mountain News earlier this week called about Unglesby's complaint, FAA spokesman Paul Turk said his agency had received only 18 complaints about screener groping -- not hundreds. He said most were minor. Unglesby's complaint was not among the 18 he found. Turk also ducked responsibility. "An allegation of this nature is an issue for the airlines," Turk said. "Any action we would take would be against the airline, not the individual." That all changed late Friday -- after the attorney general of Arizona went public Thursday with the 48 complaints of molestation by airline security screeners that her office has received. Turk found an FAA rule requiring airlines to use a person of the same sex for pat-downs. "If we believe it was not done properly, we can levy a significant fine on the airline," he said. If a person is groped by a screener, he or she should report it to the airline or the local police, he said. Hours later, Mineta upped the ante. "The secretary of transportation takes allegations of this nature with the utmost seriousness," spokesman Lenny Alcivar said late Friday. "The DOT will fully investigate any and all allegations that are made to the department." Alcivar said the DOT had received four complaints, in addition to 18 found by the FAA, which is part of the DOT. But Alcivar admitted that the department has many places to make a complaint. Allegations this serious should be sent to the DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division at airconsumer () oct dot gov, he said. And he promised to personally check on Unglesby's complaint. The DOT takes over airport security screening from airline contractors in just eight days. From Feb. 17, the federal government will ensure that all frisking is done by a person of the same sex -- though it won't shut down security, he added. Using screening as an excuse for sexual groping "will be a fireable offense," he said. Unglesby said her case occurred in the secondary security check at the gate, after she'd already been through the standard screening for everyone. Her body did not set off the wand, but the man insisted on frisking her anyway, said the software consultant who is temporarily living and working in Denver. "I said, 'You have no business doing that. You need to get a woman to do that,' " Unglesby said. "He told me there was no woman available." So she consented. The frisk up her legs turned into a solid grope, she says. She started crying almost immediately and complained to a Delta employee. A flight attendant and pilot were kind. One spoke to the screener, who insisted he'd done nothing. "My fear of flying today is not to get on an airplane and the airplane is going to blow up. My fear of flying is what I have to go through to get on that airplane," she said. The Arizona attorney general is investigating the 48 complaints it has received and will refer appropriate cases for criminal prosecution, said spokeswoman Pati Urias. "Since Sept. 11, people may have tolerated this kind of behavior because they thought they couldn't complain," Urias said. "What's offensive is there are some people who are appearing to take advantage of the situation," she said. Urias read from the National Law Enforcement Policy Center guidelines for police frisking of suspects: police should only feel outer clothing, and go into a pocket only if they believe they have felt a weapon. Police are supposed to pat down only where there is reasonable suspicion of a threat to safety, and they are to be in pairs, so that one officer can guard his partner. "And these are people who are suspects, not passengers who have already been through security screening," she said. Delta Airlines and Argenbright Security did not return calls late Friday. Contact Ann Imse at (303) 892-5438 or imse () RockyMountainNews com.
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- IP: Contact info incl if you need it -- Woman contends that officials did nothing about airport frisking David Farber (Feb 10)