TSA Agent Questions Whether Pat Downs Really Increase Security in Airports

A TSA agent is questioning the decisions of the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA. The agent doesn't believe groping the general public boarding airplanes is making the United States any safer from terrorism.



A Pittsburgh TSA officer told KDKA Television, “There’s a lot more tension both by officers, fellow officers, and passengers.”

“I myself would be just as confident flying before these new procedures took place as I would be flying right now.”

The irony is that the person most likely subjected to an enhanced pat-down is not someone acting suspiciously.

It’s America’s seniors that are most often the targets of a pat-down, says this local TSA officer.

“These are your mother, your father, your grandparents. They’re the ones who have to put up with this every time they fly.”

And it breaks the heart of some local TSA officers.

“Just the looks on their faces, some of them, the fear.”

America’s older folks seem targeted because their artificial hips, knees, plates, and pace-makers most often trigger the metal detectors.

“They are the ones who get the brunt of the pat downs. Most of the American public will not have any difference in their screening. The people who alarm the MAG are the ones that will get this invasive pat down.”

And it targets the wrong people, some TSA officers believe.

“The ones who are least likely to be terrorists, the elderly, are the most likely to get the pat downs?” KDKA’s Jon Delano asked a local TSA officer.

“Correct. And that’s the big problem with this system.”