Calif. prosecutors say they'll charge TSA agents if pat-downs are inappropriate
By Mike Rosenberg, San Mateo County Times, Calif. November 17, 2010
As nearly 2 million holiday travelers pack Bay Area airports starting Friday, local prosecutors have a warning for overzealous security agents performing the new federal pat-down: touch passengers the wrong way, and we'll throw you in jail.
Although authorities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties said they have not received any criminal complaints since the pat-downs began this month, the searches can involve touching of the genital and breast areas, which critics say is akin to sexual assault.
The Transportation Security Administration says the pat-downs are rare and most commonly used when travelers opt not to travel through the full-body X-ray scanners, which reveal what is underneath passengers' clothes and are used at all three Bay Area airports. Passengers who refuse both options would not be allowed to travel and the TSA could even fine them up to $11,000 if they delay other passengers.
The San Mateo and Santa Clara district attorneys' offices said Wednesday that they would bring charges against TSA agents at San Francisco and San Jose airports, respectively, who commit sexual crimes during searches. They said charges would be evaluated case by case and that prosecutors would take into account the fact that the agents were doing a job.
But what happens if they cross the line? That's sexual battery, said Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County's chief deputy district attorney.
Wagstaffe said it's no different from when prosecutors charge dentists, doctors, or even police officers who abuse their power by touching people in a sexual manner. He said the key to proving a criminal offense is the sexual intent behind the groping.
"TSA does not have any special immunity from everybody else," Wagstaffe said. "If an employee of TSA inappropriately touches the privates of another person, and they do so with a sexual or lewd intent, then that's either a misdemeanor (if it's over the clothing) or a felony crime (possible when touching the skin)."
The pat-down backlash swept the nation this week when a fed-up San Diego passenger posted to the Web a recording of his encounter with a TSA agent in which he told the worker he would have him arrested if he touched his "junk." Another online recording showed a 3-year-old being searched aggressively in Tennessee.
"You must unfortunately be prepared for these screenings. There's no question you lose some dignity over what they're doing and it's not a terribly pleasant experience," said Henry Harteveldt, a San Francisco-based aviation analyst with Forrester Research. He advised passengers to evoke their right to have a witness present during a search.
A TSA spokesman did not return calls for comment Wednesday but the agency's administrator, John Pistole, told congressional leaders that he understood the privacy concerns but government must provide the best possible security for air travelers.
Pistole acknowledged that the new procedures were more invasive but said they were necessary to detect potential terrorist threats.
© Copyright (c) McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Read more:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Calif+prosecutors+they+charge+agents+downs+inappropriate/3845612/story.html#ixzz15gjov6zS 
