A n agent of the Transportation Security Administration was arrested for voyeurism upon suspicion of taking photographs from underneath the skirts of female passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport; and he was suspended from his employment indefinitely without pay.
Upskirt Photographs Lead to Arrest and Suspension of Agent of Transportation Security Administration
The unidentified man — who is 29 years old and from Tukwila — was monitored by both a special agent of the Transportation Security Administration and law enforcement officers of the Port of Seattle after authorities received reports of his allegedly lewd behavior.
He was followed on Tuesday, July 19, 2016 as he left a security checkpoint at the airport for a break at approximately 11:15 in the morning when he allegedly “hurriedly walked over to the baggage claim escalator and positioned himself behind a woman” who was wearing a skirt and activated his mobile telephone to record, according to this article written by Jessica Lee of The Seattle Times.
The suspect — who was arrested and suspended from his job indefinitely — reportedly waived his right to a first court appearance on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 and was scheduled for a second court appearance on Thursday, July 21, 2016. His bail was set at $7,500.00 by a judge who presided over the court appearance.
The official statement from the Transportation Security Administration regarding this specific incident is as follows:
“TSA does not tolerate illegal, unethical or immoral conduct. When such conduct is alleged, TSA investigates it thoroughly. When appropriate, TSA requests that it be investigated by a law enforcement authority. When an investigation finds that misconduct has occurred, the appropriate action is taken.”
Summary
This incident is the latest involving a long list of questionable — and inexcusable and unacceptable — actions involving agents of the Transportation Security Administration. One of many examples is the news of two agents — one female and one male — of the Transportation Security Administration having their employment terminated as a result of allegedly groping and fondling attractive men at a security checkpoint at Denver International Airport last year.
Considering that the agency employs greater than 55,000 people where the salary for agents assigned to positions at airports throughout the United States is in a range between $15.13 and $21.61 per hour, there are bound to be some rogue individuals who should not have been hired in the first place — but because the Transportation Security Administration is supposed to be a line of defense in protecting passengers against acts of terrorism and other potential incidents which can compromise safety, hiring quality people is more paramount than with many other occupations in order to uphold the security of passengers.
In other words, no passenger should feel violated or threatened by a representative of the very agency which is supposed to protect his or her safety and security.
On a lighter note, this incident reminded me of a photograph of a T-shirt which FlyerTalk member jrl767 posted two days ago — and the message on that shirt states:
IT’S A KILT
If I wore underwear, THEN it would be a skirt!
Source: Transportation Security Administration.
