Another Terrorist Stopped by Vigilant TSA Officer: 4-Year-Old Boy in Leg Braces

By: Carlin DeGuerin Miller
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP)

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. (CBS) Now we know how the "Crotch Bomber" got through security – TSA screeners are busy terrorizing disabled toddlers.

Photo: Airport security.

4-year-old Ryan Thomas is developmentally disabled as a result of being 16 weeks premature and has to wear corrective braces. His ankles are malformed and his legs have little or no muscle tone. He only just learned how to walk, briefly, on his own, according to thePhiladelphia Inquirer.

But that didn't seem to matter to the Transportation Security Administration screeners at Philadelphia International airport.

It was Ryan's first trip to Disney in March 2009, according the paper's columnist Daniel Rubin. All was going well for the Thomases -- they had gotten to the airport with hours to spare before their flight, but as it turns out, they would need that extra time.

Ryan's father was breaking down his son's stroller to put it on the conveyor belt as his wife, Leona, walked Ryan through the metal detector. As expected the alarm went off and Leona tried to explain the situation, the paper said.

The screener replied that the boy would have to take the braces off and walk through the detector again. When Leona Thomas attempted to walk with Ryan she was told he would have to do it alone.

She tried, calmly, to explain that Ryan could barely walk with the braces, let alone without them, but the compassionless screener was deaf to her pleas, according to the newspaper.

Meanwhile Bob Thomas was getting increasingly agitated. He is an officer in Camden's emergency crime suppression team, so he understood the need for security, but this was overkill, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Thomases eventually complied and Ryan made it through on his own, but Bob immediately asked for a supervisor. The supervisor was less than sympathetic and stood by the screener's actions. A fellow police officer even told Bob Thomas to drop it and go enjoy his vacation.

But Bob Thomas didn't forget and after his trip he called the airport manager. Eventually, with help from Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Daniel Rubin, the TSA finally responded to the incident saying that the boy never should have had to remove his braces and they would be looking into what went wrong that day in March.

For the Thomases that probably feels like too little too late.

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by nycsep November 28, 2010 3:02 PM EST: Everyone continues to give up their rights to intrusive government. TSA is a joke and we can look to Israel as a way to handle security. How much further are we going to allow the government, first with the patriot act, to cut away at our personal freedoms.

Our company plans to do more video conferencing and I plan to cut down on air travel. There needs to be a real protest about the TSA, the screening process and invasion of privacy.; Reply to this comment


by Andy-Davies February 20, 2010 7:20 PM EST: Less and less people around the world want to visit the USA with this sought of thing happening, there may have been a new president but he is still a monster hiding behind the christian banner, people all over and not just arabs are now thinking that they don't want their humans rights trampled on so they will stay away and not holiday in the good old US of A. It is a travesty that the security men are also such bullies but it does not surprise me. Can America survive without any tourists?. It is well documented that America at the end of the second world war wanted to police the world but were stopped by many who thought that was just as dangerous as the nazis, it looks like there is a long term plan already in place so is it any surprise that these people do not fear being sacked because they are protected by the system. This is exactly what communist Russia was like which when you think about it is quite ironic.; Reply to this comment


by katie8471 February 19, 2010 9:59 AM EST: I had a similar experience in Chicago with a child in leg braces. they insisted all shoes must be removed even childrens. I said these are not shoes they are AFOs and he cant walk without them. he was barely toddling at the time and walking without them was out of the question. Mama bear was ready to fight but they just took us to a seperate area, swiped his afos and checked for explosive residue and sent us on our way. More concerning was that we left the country and returned home TWICE, with multiple stop both ways, with tickets not matching passport. and no one said a thing.; Reply to this comment

by panthx February 17, 2010 12:35 PM EST

I don't appreciate the sarcasm in this article, I was previously employed as a TSA officer and everyone hates you but we are just trying to keep everyone safe. Thats a perfectly logical place for something to be smuggled in through a leg brace, people moan and complain about this very minor inconvenience but its all for the public safety and I can guarantee this sure won't change a thing on how things are run in the transportation security administration.

I was there when the whole controversy about some woman having to take off her nipple ring took place, and what they told me and everyone else was don't ever be afraid to check everyone and anyone. This kind of biased rude reporting only motivates us to more thoroughly check everyone.

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by NastyGash February 19, 2010 6:02 PM EST: I believe that the main argument of this article is that the boy was being required to walk thru the metal detector by himself, not that the braces had to be removed. Parents routinely carry infants thru; why would TSA not allow that for a 4 YO who has trouble walking?


by nycsep November 28, 2010 2:59 PM EST: And no one appreciates the tone of your comment. You appear to be like every other insensitive TSA screener in this situation. You don't have to act like everyone is a terrorist and could display some form of common courtesy. Everyone has a bad experience with TSA so to say this is a biased report comes from someone who only lives in their own experience.

Sure, it won't change the way things are run, but even NYC taxi cab drivers had to have sensitivity training and the TSA should have to do the same.

That said, i hope that it becomes privatized because TSA is NOT working. You better remember that everyone is expendable and do you job with pride, not with a superiority complex. For now, you are employed but that doesn't mean that it will last forever, especially with the growing concern of the TSA.


by cpuller February 17, 2010 9:44 AM EST: This ranks right up there with the TSA blunder when Joe Foss, U.S.M.C. WWII aviator and Medal of Honor winner was denied flight access because his Medal of Honor was a "star shaped device"...the TSA inspector didn't even know what a Medal of Honor was!!! TSA stands for Totally Stupid Ass#@%$*...what a bunch of morons.; Reply to this comment


by jckbrn-2009 February 17, 2010 9:20 AM EST: High IQ at work ! ! !
Not paid to think, just follow rules ! ! ! !; Reply to this comment


by chemistrule February 17, 2010 6:00 AM EST: I think you all have under estimated the success of the TSA. There have been many horrific and scary bottles of hand lotion, baby food, and shampoo stopped from boarding plans. The stopping of the child was the government's way of showing they are not Profiling. The TSA has been a great way to reduce the number of people on Welfare (I am sure this is where they came from. Have you ever talked to one them?). I am surprised in their lack of security in handling this situation. They should have made his parents put the leg braces in a plastic bag. The Feds have only one terror job: Catch Osama Bin Laden and they can not do it. We can put people in space; the IRS catch me tax cheating, the Gov. threatens us about filing out the Census, but they can not catch a single man. Dog the Bounty Hunter could catch him. My guess is that Bin Laden is hiding under cover working for the TSA at an Airport using an expired student visa that has his name miss spelled by one letter.; Reply to this comment


by AmazingGrce February 17, 2010 4:41 AM EST: IF reason prevails there should be two new openings in the Philly TSA office.; Reply to this comment


by berlinfoto-2009 February 17, 2010 1:31 AM EST: One should ask himself, just why is that the federal government is constantly thinking of ways to increase the number of "AUTHORITARIAN FEDERAL POLICE OFFICERS"?
It does not matter which agency, all federal agents score as very high authoritarian, many are even so authoritarian that they are subject to intrigue, (intransitive verb), and magical thinking.
It is obvious to me that these particular TSA people were subject to INTRIGUE AND MAGICAL THINKING, in harassing a four year old little boy in leg braces.
Lets all hope and pray that the next president is not another Adolf Hitler.; Reply to this comment

by KeithDrippingSprings February 16, 2010 10:48 PM EST

These parents were completely constrained in their reactions. It is a good thing because the TSA agents would have made an already bad situation worse.

Who was the idiot who said that the TSA had a job to do and that job is the safety of those who travel. The TSA hasn't made a single traveler safer. If they had caught even one dangerous person since their inception it would be on television constantly. No one would have to wonder what they have done for us. The conspicuous absence of self aggrandizement by the TSA means exactly that, they haven't done anything.

All the TSA is is an effort by your ignorant congressman to convince you that they can do something about terrorist. As they go around the very security they impose on the rest of us they can say look at what we have done. Well all they have accomplished is to let the terrorist win. We pay for the stupidity of the government with loss of liberties, extreme cost of useless government employees, lost time, and a climate of fear and intimidation that the terrorist didn't create.

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by NastyGash February 19, 2010 6:20 PM EST: Perhaps the reason that they have not "caught even one dangerous person since their inception" is precisely because of their presence which is a deterrence in itself? By your logic, my bank's safe is of no use because my bank has never been robbed.

Your assertion that TSA has not "caught even one dangerous person since their inception" is dubious. They have intercepted knives and other potential weapons. Do you know that all the passengers who were carrying these items had no nefarious intent?