Women Say Screeners Groped Them
Fri Feb 8, 6:41 AM ET
By ANANDA SHOREY, Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX (AP) - Dozens of female travelers have filed complaints
with
the Federal Aviation Administration and state officials, claiming
that
male airport security screeners groped them under the guise of
random
body searches.
The complaints include 18 filed with the FAA by women who claimed
they
were singled out for pat-down searches when they were traveling
alone,
then groped or fondled by male agents, according to spokesman
Jerry
Snyder.
At least 35 women have contacted Arizona Attorney General
Janet
Napolitano about being improperly touched during pat-down
searches,
spokeswoman Pati Urias said, although none has filed a
criminal
complaint.
The complaints were made from Oct. 11 to Jan. 31. Security measures
at
airports have been tightened, and the use of random body
searches
increased since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Current policy allows female passengers to request female
screeners,
but no federal law requires airlines to provide an employee of
the
same sex to conduct searches.
The complaints are being forwarded to the airlines, which are
responsible for disciplinary decisions, Snyder said. He did
not
identify the airlines involved in the complaints, nor give
further
detail on the alleged incidents.
But Sharon Schmidt, of Placerville, Calif., says an America
West
security worker whisked her to a closed-off area as part of an
airport
screening, then smirked as he put his hands inside her sweater
and
slid them up her torso.
"I am appalled, infuriated and disgusted that the FAA has
given
airlines their approval to randomly violate my civil liberties,"
she
said.
The airline said it interviewed three male gate staff agents who
may
have witnessed the Jan. 21 search.
"No one could recall this particular passenger, but all denied
ever
singling out women for search; continuing to search any male or
female
passenger who refused a search; or touching women
inappropriately
during the search process," America West general counsel
Linda
Mitchell wrote in a letter Thursday.
The three men were nevertheless "counseled on the use of tact
and
professionalism," and the same message was reiterated to all
gate
agents, Mitchell wrote.
Nobody has been disciplined as a result of Schmidt's complaint,
she
wrote.
Passengers of Alaska and United Airlines also contacted the
attorney
general's office about being groped during searches, Napolitano
said.
An Alaska Airlines official would not comment on any complaints,
and
United did not return calls Thursday.