Sunday, June 17, 2007

Sippy Cup Battle

TSA has banned most fluids at airport security checkpoints for nearly a year because of concern about possible liquid explosives.
"I was distraught. I opened my son's sippy cup. I twisted off the top. I wanted to drink the water. It spilled out," Emmerson said Saturday.
Emmerson said an officer threatened to arrest her after the water spilled, telling her she was "endangering the public." She said there was no place to dump the water near the security area, and that she was worried when her son started wandering away from her.
The story quickly spread on the Internet this week after blogger Bill Adler, a Washington author, saw a note Emmerson wrote on a Web site for city parents. Adler interviewed Emmerson and relayed her account.
He wrote that a TSA screener seized her 19-month-old's cup after asking if there was water in it, causing Emmerson's son to cry. Emmerson was told she would have to leave the security checkpoint and dump out the water if she wanted to keep the cup.
Emmerson said she accidentally spilled the water because she was nervous and traveling alone with a toddler.
TSA, however, said Emmerson dumped, not spilled, the water on the floor.
A TSA report said Emmerson told an officer that she was a Secret Service agent, flashed her credentials and said she was exempt from the "stupid" policy restricting liquids on planes.
But Emmerson denied that she flashed her badge, saying the video footage shows her digging in her luggage for identification.
"That's a gross lie," she said.

*After reading the article I was all on the mom's side, but after watching the video - in my opinion this lady looks pissed off and throws it on the floor deliberately. What do you think??

http://www.tsa.gov/approach/mythbusters/index.shtm

5 comments:

Phoenix said...

I agree with you. But I do think it's annoying and harsh for them to take a freaking cup away from a baby.

Anonymous said...

That lady pisses me off and I'm so glad they released the video. In my opinion this had nothing to do with her wanting her child to have a sippy cup and everything to do with her thinking she's better than the rules.

Special K ~Toni said...

Yep! Watched this earlier today- Looks like she threw it on purpose on the floor!

Hol said...

Yes, it does look like she dumps the water and then shakes the cup. That's an "accident"?

Right after that, it seems like she tries to turn around, almost running into the TSA screener.

Her body language says A LOT.

Jennifer said...

Yeah, she definitely dumped it.

I'd like to think that she's really a nice person, but was having a REALLY, REALLY bad day.