Rape victim arrested for refusing TSA pat down

Rape victim arrested for refusing TSA pat down

Eric W. Dolan
Raw Story
Friday, December 24, 2010

A 56-year-old woman who says she is a rape victim was arrested and banned from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Wednesday after refusing to receive a pat down from a Transportation Security Agency (TSA) officer.

Claire Hirschkind could not receive a body scan because of a pacemaker-type device in her chest and was escorted to a female TSA officer to receive an enhanced pat down.

“I told them, ‘No, I’m not going to have my breasts felt,’ and she said, ‘Yes, you are,’” Hirschkind told KVUE.

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After refusing to receive the enhanced pat down, she was arrested.

“The police actually pushed me to the floor, and handcuffed me,” she said. “I was crying by then. They drug me 25 yards across the floor in front of the whole security.”

Hirschkind said her constitutional rights were violated.

About 70 airports have put into use over 400 backscatter x-ray machines that can see beneath passengers’ clothing. Passengers who set off a metal detector or body scan machine or refuses to be scanned receive an invasive physical pat down.

Full story here.

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