TSA Forces Woman To Remove Nipple Rings

Passenger Asks For Apology After Being Required To Remove Body Jewelry With Aid Of Pliers

(AP)  A Texas woman who said she was forced to remove a nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane called Thursday for an apology by federal security agents and a civil rights investigation.

"I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone," Mandi Hamlin said at a news conference. "My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. No one deserves to be treated this way."

Hamlin, 37, said she was trying to board a flight from Lubbock to Dallas on Feb. 24 when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.

The female TSA agent used a handheld detector that beeped when it passed in front of Hamlin's chest, the Dallas-area resident said.

Hamlin said she told the woman she was wearing nipple piercings. The agent then called over her male colleagues, one of whom said she would have to remove the jewelry, Hamlin said.

Hamlin said she could not remove them and asked whether she could instead display her pierced breasts in private to the female agent. But several other male officers told her she could not board her flight until the jewelry was out, she said.

She was taken behind a curtain and managed to remove one bar-shaped piercing but had trouble with the second, a ring.

"Still crying, she informed the TSA officer that she could not remove it without the help of pliers, and the officer gave a pair to her," said Hamlin's attorney, Gloria Allred, reading from a letter she sent Thursday to the director of the TSA's Office of Civil Rights and Liberties. Allred is a well-known Los Angeles lawyer who often represents high-profile claims.

Applying pliers to the torso of a mannequin that had a peach-colored bra with the rings on it, Hamlin showed reporters at the news conference how she took off the second ring.

She said she heard male TSA agents snickering as she took out the ring. She was scanned again and was allowed to board even though she still was wearing a belly button ring.

"After nipple rings are inserted, the skin can often heal around the piercing, and the rings can be extremely difficult and painful to remove," Allred said in the letter.

TSA officials said they are investigating to see whether its policies were followed.

"Our security officers are well-trained to screen individuals with body piercings in sensitive areas with dignity and respect while ensuring a high level of security," the agency said in a statement.

On its Web site, the TSA warns that passengers "may be additionally screened because of hidden items such as body piercings, which alarmed the metal detector."

"If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search," the site says.

Hamlin would have accepted a "pat-down" had it been offered, Allred said.

If an alarm does sound, "until that is resolved, we're not going to let them go through the checkpoint, no matter what they're wearing or where they're wearing it," said TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird in Salt Lake City.

People routinely pass through security wearing wedding rings without problems, and it might take a larger bit of metal to trigger an alarm, Baird said.

Hamlin filed a complaint, but the TSA's customer service manager at the Lubbock airport concluded the screening was handled properly, Allred said.

Hamlin wants an apology from the TSA and an investigation by the agency's civil rights office.

Allred said she might consider legal action if the TSA does not apologize.

Hamlin was publicly humiliated and has "undergone an enormous amount of physical pain to have the nipple rings reinserted" because of scar tissue, Allred said.

Hamlin said her piercings have never set off an airport metal detector.

"The conduct of TSA was cruel and unnecessary," Allred wrote. "The last time that I checked a nipple was not a dangerous weapon."

[vinniethescreener]

I work for the TSA and this sort of thing should NEVER happen. It never would at the airport where I work. The female screener, the male screeners she called over and the customer service manager at Lubbock should all be terminated. Immediately. Procedure was not even close to being followed. Male screeners should never have been involved. The passenger should have been offered a pat down, been cleared and sent on her way with a thanks from the screener for her cooperation. Not all TSA screeners are as immature and stupid as this bunch are. Please do not judge us all by the actions of some.

[candide777]

why are nipple rings a problem for security? what''''s the threat that nipple rings present?

what it shows is the complete and total absurdity of the whole process ... and that it has anything to do w/ real safety at all.

Posted by bobnjersey at 09:08 AM : Mar 29, 2008

Exactly, if after all these years following 9-11, the idiots working airport security still can''t distinguish a real threat from no threat at all, god help us all.

[candide777]

"the TSA''s customer service manager at the Lubbock airport concluded the screening was handled properly, Allred said."

This is where all the extra money we are paying for security is going!? To harrass law-abiding citizens!? Incredible. Meanwhile, people who might actually be true threats are no doubt sliding right by the totally incompetent security at airports like LAX, which apparently is so named for its lax security.

[jehovahwtnss]

I think Nursetobe''s diatribe aptly epitomises the predominant self righteous attitude of most TSA agents and it is interesting to note that she refrained from commenting on the obvious abuse of power demonstrated by her "Brilliant" colleagues in the nipple ring case

[jehovahwtnss]

I think DSR57 should try to lose himself FASSSSSSST!!

[barbaraf4]

We do not fly anymore. Unless it is the grandfather of all emergencies, my husband and I drive.

[bobnjersey]

[how dumb do you have to be to think that you can go to the airport wearing nipple rings and simply pass through security without any problems?]
[Posted by gurusavant at 04:49 AM : Mar 29, 2008]

why are nipple rings a problem for security? what''s the threat that nipple rings present?

what it shows is the complete and total absurdity of the whole process ... and that it has anything to do w/ real safety at all.

[keithle1]

You don''t need to go to all this trouble, people.

Soon as a Muslim freakazoid dreaming about his 72 virgins stands up in a plane & starts screaming "Allah Akbar!", everyone else will tear him apart in 1/2 a millisecond.

[gurusavant]

how dumb do you have to be to think that you can go to the airport wearing nipple rings and simply pass through security without any problems? -and she wanted to show the employee her T..ts...!? please spare that woman from this horrible sight. but gloria will do anything to arm her agenda. and what kind of attempt to dismantle security measures this is, becomes kinda clear...i''m not saying bejing though... who is she trying to get on a plane?

[fibonacci_]

My dog would look more attractive if she wore nipple rings.

[dylanxxv]

Probably just wanted to see her boobs...but that chick is ugly - definately not worth it. She has nipple rings? Ewwww.

Posted by fibonacci_ at 02:46 PM : Mar 28, 2008


Ummmm...She passed the "chick" stage about 40 years ago...

[cyberus-2009]

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

TSA has the power to do as they wish .. so they do.

[rudy654-2009]

I think the TSA were just getting some kinky thrills of this woman. Surely she was not the first.

[toolmangler-2009]

"The last time I checked, breasts were not deadly weapons" - Gloria Allred



That depends on who''s hands they are in.

[jncc1701]

People are we this stupid? most the cargo on the plane with the nipple ring was not scanned by anyone!!! What is the TSA getting paid to do? we take off shoes and nipple rings and cargo is moving mostly un-scanned.
Someone please tell me we are not that stupid!!! please!!!!

[newsterl]

Nope newsterl. The TSA takes it too far with the public. Like making you throw away your water you''''re drinking or

Posted by httpwwwnews"

Sure they did, but again- YOU the consumer have the RIGHT not to get on a plane, no one is FORCING you to get on a plane, 100 years ago they didnt even EXIST and people did fine without air travel.

There''s the bus, the train, and your car- none of those will force you to disrobe, pull out piercings, herd you like sheep, xray you, you have a choice- use it and stop complaining!
If everyone says NO MORE and refuses to take the plane for one month, you will either force changes or force the airlines out of business, only YOU have this choice it cant be made for you, so you either make the choice or put up with t he bullchit.

[johnshaft4]

How do we not know that instead of silicone, her **** were not packed with C-4? The horror, the horror...

[kyanna1]

I COULDNT HAVE SAID IT BETTER onlytherel!i dont care if they apologize or not,stand on their heads or snap their carrots you know she is going to sue!get a life!

[jaygshaw]

Total lack of common sense on the part of TSA personnel. Followed up by total ignorance of American civil rights by TSA management. Better yet that this person could have simply declared her physical condition and if denied boarding by TSA she could have shown the stupidity of the "security process". The entire screening process,including the No Fly List, is a JOKE. People, wake up and realize that individual rights are being taken away every day and this trend must stop. Speak up.

[iceman_1960]

Quote of the week:

"The last time I checked, breasts were not deadly weapons" - Gloria Allred

Maybe HERS aren"t...