TSA, leukemia patient tell conflicting accounts of pat-down
SEATTLE -- The Transportation Security Administration says its agents followed protocol when they patted down a leukemia patient in what the passenger described as a humiliating experience, but the woman says the TSA's version of events is not accurate.
The incident in question involves Michelle Dunaj, a leukemia patient. The woman said screeners at Sea-Tac Airport made her pull up her shirt to check under bandages from recent surgeries, and refused to give her a private search when she requested one.
A machine couldn't get a reading on her saline bags, she said, so a TSA agent forced one open, contaminating the fluid she needs to survive.
Dunaj said agents also made her lift up her shirt and pull back the bandages holding feeding tubes in place. She needs those tubes because of organ failure.
But the agency says that's not what happened.
"At no point did a TSA officer open the passenger's medically necessary liquids and the passenger was never asked to remove or pull off any bandages," the TSA said in a statement. "After reviewing video from the security checkpoint, we have determined that our screening procedures were followed.
"That isn't true," said Dunaj in response to TSA's statement. "They absolutely did open up one of my saline bags. I was asked to lift up my shirt and pull back the dressing."
With other passengers staring, Dunaj said her request for privacy was denied.
"They just said that it was fine; the location we were at was fine," she said, "and I didn't feel that it was fine, because everybody was looking at me."
The TSA has not released video of Dunaj's screening.
Under TSA's policy, passengers can request a private screening with a witness present. TSA said its footage does not contain audio and therefore is inconclusive on whether Dunaj did, in fact, request a private screening.
Dunaj said she is not looking for an apology. Instead, she wants procedures to change so no other passenger with special needs will have to undergo a similar experience.
"They shouldn't treat people that way, especially when somebody wants to make what I call an end-of-life trip to cross something off their bucket list or see family and friends," she said.
The incident in question involves Michelle Dunaj, a leukemia patient. The woman said screeners at Sea-Tac Airport made her pull up her shirt to check under bandages from recent surgeries, and refused to give her a private search when she requested one.
A machine couldn't get a reading on her saline bags, she said, so a TSA agent forced one open, contaminating the fluid she needs to survive.
Dunaj said agents also made her lift up her shirt and pull back the bandages holding feeding tubes in place. She needs those tubes because of organ failure.
But the agency says that's not what happened.
"At no point did a TSA officer open the passenger's medically necessary liquids and the passenger was never asked to remove or pull off any bandages," the TSA said in a statement. "After reviewing video from the security checkpoint, we have determined that our screening procedures were followed.
"That isn't true," said Dunaj in response to TSA's statement. "They absolutely did open up one of my saline bags. I was asked to lift up my shirt and pull back the dressing."
With other passengers staring, Dunaj said her request for privacy was denied.
"They just said that it was fine; the location we were at was fine," she said, "and I didn't feel that it was fine, because everybody was looking at me."
The TSA has not released video of Dunaj's screening.
Under TSA's policy, passengers can request a private screening with a witness present. TSA said its footage does not contain audio and therefore is inconclusive on whether Dunaj did, in fact, request a private screening.
Dunaj said she is not looking for an apology. Instead, she wants procedures to change so no other passenger with special needs will have to undergo a similar experience.
"They shouldn't treat people that way, especially when somebody wants to make what I call an end-of-life trip to cross something off their bucket list or see family and friends," she said.
She looks awfully healthy for someone dying of leukemia. I'm not saying this lady isn't sick but in this:I'm suing(but I'll gladly settle out of court) for a price $$.. climate..who knows what people are capable of doing or saying for a settlement check.It's hard to imagine anyone ripping open a cancer patients bandaging and tearing out tubes, even the TSA must have some ethics or people to answer to for this sort of outrageous behavior. Thank goodness she has it all on video, it should go a long way towards proving her case in court.
Whether TSA or the lady in this article is correct, I do find it unusual that she is willing to have a picture taken of her and her bandages and have it posted on a public news website. Â She stated that during her TSA screening processes, "Dunaj said her request for privacy was denied." Â
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You have a lot more privacy at the TSA screening in an airport than you do having your picture posted for anyone to see.
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Of course the TSA scumbags are giving a different story, thay are trying to cover their arses.
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 @caphillkid mixed feelings about that kid.... I would like to see the video to put it to rest... maybe that wouldn't even answer the complaint... You're 100% correct.... I wasn't there.... I only know of all of the theft done by the TSA and ramp crews first hand because I worked on a ramp crew and we had meetings regularly about theft... I cannot help but believe this woman and her eyes command TRUST for some reason to me... I have been wrong.....
 @Funky-Munky Airport employees have been stealing stuff for as long as there have been airports.
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Don't forget that before we had the TSA, each airport has its own makeshift security. There were no background checks on them and they didn't even have to be U.S. citizens.
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In terms of this particular story, we just don't know what the truth is. But even her own words, in my opinion, do not show any humiliating behavior or malice on the part of the TSA.Â
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So I say, OK, lets see the tape? That should solve everything.
This woman is lying.
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I used to work for the TSA at SEATAC. Â Private screening is ALWAYS presented as an option. Â They deal with passengers with medical problems all day long. Â Medical fluid bags are NEVER touched.
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How about some responsible reporting KOMO? Â Don't just assume the TSA is wrong. Â In fact, the TSA at SEATAC actually has a good reputation nationwide. Â When I worked there, we were constantly being told how friendly and efficient we were from people who were screened at other airports.
@Mike,  I fly a lot and have never seen the TSA officers being anything but professional, polite and usually even have a smile for you. I treat them kindly and they treat me kindly back.Â
 @Mike Holy smokes mikey... picking on a woman's credibility you know nothing about just because you worked for a rent a badge company.. good grief. If I were her husband... I would stuff you in a garbage can for that....
 @Funky-Munky And there are people like you who immediately believe everything that you read....even if it is a one sided account of an event.Â
 @caphillkid easy there red rider see my post above to your post.....
 @Mike I must not have been in your screening station. That hasn't been MY experience at SeaTac. TSA  at SeaTac stole my meds, lost tools, refused to allow me to take my own food onboard and were rude. It must have been the "other" guys, right? <snicker>
 @Glassman  @Mike Bingo... If it isn't the ramp crew stealing from your bags... It's the TSA fingering your goods in more ways than one....
Where is the video? I also believe liability is the reason TSA isn't supporting any of the woman's claims. We are the TSA we know what's good for you listen, obey and submit... whatever. This woman is of better character than some wannabe Nazi SS members of the TSA...
 @Funky-Munky WOW NAZI SS really.  Pull your head out of your ____________!
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 @Mike Oh mikey, you fail to understand a little theatrics... Do you work for the TSA? whatever. Humor mikey it's a valuable commodity...
 @Glassman  @Mike missed that... this new forum program is a bit confusing to me.. yesterday I got cross with someone who was supporting my point of view.. Ha! whoops... thanks for pointing that out. I am amazed the G.E.D graduate would admit to working there.. Ha! little humor.
 @Funky-Munky  @Mike Mike admitted he worked for TSA up there â. As much as admitted he has single-digit IQ.
I believe her story. Time and time again, we hear of these issues with the TSA violating our constitutional rights to free travel. Time and time again, I see these videos/ TSA just thinks that they can lie and are above the law. The funny thing is, looking at 90% of these TSA agents; I don't think they even know what the constitution is.
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 @TheSkyIsFalling No Constitutional rights were violated. I'm so sick of people repeating this.Â
 @caphillkid Americans should not have to abandon their privacy rights when they enter an airport and be forced to undergo invasive scanning and excessive groping of the body in order to board a plane, especially when there has been no suspicion of wrongdoing.
 @TheSkyIsFalling  @caphillkid You should at least give credit to the individual who said that or at the very least put quotations before and after.
 @TheSkyIsFalling That's a completely different argument than it is un-Constitutional.
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Not only is it completely "reasonable" to assume that planes can be used as missles, we have history to show us. It is "reasonable" to search those getting onto 600mph jet fuel missles.
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If you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to fly.Â
 @caphillkid Sexual battery: Searches that involve the touching of the genital and breast areas can be compared to sexual assault.
 @caphillkid The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: The 4th Amendment protects citizens against âunreasonable searches and seizures
 @caphillkid You must work for the machine then, or consumed to much fluoride!
 @TheSkyIsFalling You are so wrong on so many levels on the law, it makes my head hurt.
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After reading that TSA does not have audio numerous times in this report, the next time I fly I AM taking my portable voice recorder.
This happens every time I fly; I don't like it but have learned to cope with it. I have an permanent IV and wear an external pump. I'm always patted down and have to show them my IV site in my upper chest. I wear a T-shirt with a low neck that I can pull down without exposing myself to the masses. The pump is always swabbed, as well as my hands. I just cooperate politely and the TSA agents respond the same way.
 @queen60 You should be polite, however, you should NOT easily cooperate. there is no reason for them to be violating you in this way. You're a victim and don't even know it. Sad.
I'm so tired of everyone being a victim. I AM NOT A VICTIM. Unpleasant things happen sometimes, that's just life. GET ONE.
 @queen60 By your logic American's should just bend over and take it... thank you sir, may I have another... What a cod fish....
 @queen60 Again, there is NO reason for them to be violating you in this manner. And make no mistake, it is a violation of your person, your right to medical privacy, and it's quite possibly a constitutional violation as well... it just hasn't been brought up in front of the supreme court... yet..
no way!!! TSA has been in the news numerous times and always feins innocense!!!! No, this is a government agency set up to keep us safe from terrorists but they abuse the people their put in place to keep safe and steal from them any chance they get....I say no and feel sad for this woman and hope that she sues the Bejesus out of them.........Shame on you TSA
Ah ha, as I suspected, the other side of the story. There are always two sides.....TSA appears to be scurrying, but maybe not. Time for both to move on!
@mustang sally
We need to STOP moving on simply because it's convenient and easier to bury our head in the sand
What bewilders me is with all the available technology we must still be x-rayed then remove clothing, shoes, jewelry. Nonsense! For crying out loud there is a rover on Mars performing experiments for life on the planet and we are prisoners of antiquated methods of airport check-in. What's wrong with this picture?
 @Susumu We are one of the few countries that requires that.  It's not required in most European countries nor all Asian countries.  It is very strange that they require this stuff
 @Doxie  @Susumu It's required because there's money to be made in it all..
THAT'S the sad part...Â
 @Poisonous Giraffe  @Susumu Sorry, I meant we are the only ones who require shoe and jacket removal.  You're right about the other stuff.  But all countries have that other stuff too.  I haven't traveled on the continent of Africa nor Antarctica, but I assume they have the same requirements as airports must meet certain criteria to fly into the US.
I would think that standing up to TSA at all, let alone when you are sick, isn't easy for her. I commend her strength in trying to advocate for people in her situation. I wonder how much of this is wording. "Medically necessary" did some lawyer tell them saline isn't medically necessary? "Never asked to pull off or remove" is that different than being asked to pull back but never completely remove the bandages? The main issue here is you have the right to request a private screening. They should be following that protocol and if they are not, good for her to draw it to their attention. It's her right to decide if she wants to show her bandages in a public area.
If TSA is claiming that she embellished the story than TSA needs to release the video if they have nothing to hide.
@alildifferent - I think that she should get a lawyer and subpoena the surveillance tapes in their entirety - more than likely the TSA will send an incomplete tape with abuses that had been recorded removed.
All TSA has to do is release the tapes. If they have nothing to hide it shouldn't be a problem. The tapes will show what happened.
@The WA Mama - Thought you'd find this interesting if you haven't seen it - This article includes the video of the young mom who was detained in Phoenix because she requested alternate screening of her breast milk. After her nightmare with the TSA causing her to miss her flight, she requested the surveillance tapes and when the TSA eventually sent them, they had removed 30 minutes of tape:
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http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/38560/tsa-harasses-and-threatens-pregnant-mother-over-breast-milk/
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She is suing the TSA.
 @The WA Mama Since it is a public record of a public agency funded by public money, anyone can request the tapes through the Freedom of Information Act. (FOIA)  I suspect someone is sifting through many FOIA requests right now, and each of them require a paper trail a mile long, showing that they complied.  That makes me smile.
I wear a foley catheter and a bag strapped to my leg that is hopefully filled with fluid - what will they do to me???
My wife had a Hickman line (those blue and red things hanging from her neckline) during her cancer treatment. They go directly into the body and must be kept sterile and flushed often. It should be mandatory training that TSA and security personnel understand what these are and how they are to be treated. Mishandling them could be lethal because of the likelihood of infection.
@Glassman
 I know - My mother has a stoma from cancer surgery and on a trip to Texas from Seatac the TSA put her through Hell because the agents aren't too bright. They pulled the bandage off of her stoma which has to be kept sterile and actually hurt her - she was in tears by the time she was allowed to board. The irony is that a woman in line in front of her had visible crawling head lice:
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So elderly people with medical conditions are harrassed but your lice fly free......
I had a friend who recently did a similar trip a couple weeks before he died and did not have a bad experience with TSA at all despite all his medical stuff (a lot of narcotics/seizure meds and wheelchair and all that). If this really did happen as she said then it was not the whole TSA it was some bad employees - but TSA is gulity of covering it up. If it didn't happen the way she said why don't they just release the video and prove their innocence? She doesn't seem to mind showing her bandages to the world on the internet or tv so I'm not sure why it was upsetting for her in line at TSA - but then it may have been more invasive than we understand too. The video would answer those questions. For now it's he said/she said.