10-year-old girl's Capri Sun container leads to TSA pat-down
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Beware of little girls bearing juice pouches?
A California dad is livid after the discovery of a Capri Sun juice pouch in his 10-year-old daughter’s carry-on handbag led to an extensive frisking from a Transportation Security Administration agent – and he caught the entire uncomfortable encounter on video.
“Maybe the TSA agents were bad apples, maybe they were undertrained, maybe they need re-training, maybe they did everything by the book,” Kevin Payne, the girl’s dad, told WNCN. “I don’t really know. But it was an uncomfortable situation.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Vendela Payne was subjected to the pat-down at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Dec. 30 when an agent found the contraband juice container and a subsequent swab of the girl’s bag produced a false-positive for explosives. Liquids exceeding 3 ounces aren’t permitted in carry-on bags.
“I’m a very big proponent of security, and if they were patting me down, no problem,” Kevin told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “But this was a 10-year-old girl. The whole system seems to not work the way it should be working.”
During the more than 2-minute procedure, a female agent touches Vendela’s rear, chest and pelvic areas. The agent frisks the same areas numerous times during the lengthy process.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Payne said he was told by TSA agents that he would be arrested if he interfered in the pat-down, according to the Union-Tribune. So, Payne said, he made funny faces to try to keep his daughter calm.
“My dad was making funny faces, silly faces in the mirror and I felt like screaming the whole time,” Vendela told NBC7. “I know it’s to keep everybody on the plane safe, but she kept patting me down. Pat-down, pat-down. It was like, over and over.”
But the TSA isn’t backing down. Vendela’s pat-down “followed approved procedures,” according to a statement sent to WNCN. Other outlets received similar justifications.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“Since pat-down screening is conducted to determine whether prohibited items are concealed under clothing, sufficient pressure must be applied in order to ensure detection,” a TSA statement sent to the Union-Tribune said.
“What was going through my mind was, ‘This is annoying. I don’t like this,’” Vendela told The Today Show. “’I wanna run out the door.’”