Oh my, traumatizing yet another baby by taking away her tiny stuffed animal. And the family was detained for a long time over this b.s. The agent could have made a game out of it, been gentle, understanding and kind, and quickly x-rayed the toy if they really needed to do that (which I also question), and given it back to her in moments and had her watch/be a part of the process and made some kinda fun story out of it so the child wouldn't be upset. Cripes, we had to do that when we had to wash some animal, blanket, pillow, etc., that the kids had when they were babies. She's a baby, she's disabled, she's in an unfamiliar environment full of noises, strangers and chaos and maybe tired. At least attempt to be accommodating and understanding. The lunacy never ends.
"Because of her medical condition (spina bifida), Lucy's spinal cord is exposed at the small of her back. Nathan Forck says he was concerned about TSA agents hurting his daughter during the pat down; in
an interview with the Riverfront Times, he says he told the TSA screener, "You're not going to put your hand on my child without probable cause. Because she is in a wheelchair, we have to pat her down? That's discrimination against a disabled person—to just single her out for special treatment because she is disabled."
During the dispute, Lucy's mother was ordered—incorrectly, it turns out—to stop recording the search. She replied, "The problem is, I don’t allow anyone to touch my little daughter,” Annie said on the video. “It just seems ominous for you guys to suggest that you have to do this in the dark. That in and of itself seems very inappropriate."
A TSA spokesperson now says the agents were wrong to tell Lucy's mother to stop filming, because it's perfectly legal to film TSA agents as long as it doesn't interfere with their work. "TSA regrets inaccurate guidance was provided to this family during screening and offers its apology,” the TSA said in a statement. “We are committed to maintaining the security of the traveling public and strive to treat all passengers with dignity and respect. While no pat-down was performed, we will address specific concerns with our workforce."
After about 45 minutes, the TSA agents finally relented and agreed to search Lucy's wheelchair separately without her in it. (seriously? 45 minutes?) Afterward, the TSA also admitted that trying to pat down a child this young was highly unusual. Lucy's father
tells the Riverfront Times, "Our goal was to draw people's attention to it—to effect change. They apologized and said what they did was wrong."
