A mother says she was "livid" after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents gave her son a disgustingly invasive and lengthy pat-down and detained him for well over an hour. Jennifer Williamson caught the incident on
video, and it is
truly disturbing to watch.The TSA forced Williamson's son to submit to a pat down after finding a laptop in his bag, despite the fact he did not set off the body scanner. Williamson asked that her son not be patted down, because he has Sensory Processing Disorder, which makes him sensitive to touch.
The TSA did it anyway."He is still several hours later saying 'I don't know what I did. What did I do?' I am livid," Williamson wrote.
"I wish I had taped the entire interchange because it was horrifying. We had two DFW police officers that were called and flanking him on each side. Somehow these power tripping TSA agents who are traumatizing children and doing whatever they feel like without any cause, need to be reined in."
The TSA absolutely needs to be reined in and its procedures clarified. According to
CBS, new TSA pat down procedures took effect March 2, and involved "consolidating different variations of the pat down into one uniform standardized procedure."
But what exactly does this even mean?! Surely, it can't mean a 2-minute pat down of a child with special needs is warranted when it's been specifically requested they not be touched!
Please sign this petition to demand the TSA clarify its procedures around pat downs and commit to always accommodating children and others who ask not to be touched! 