Mother battling breast cancer claims she was ‘violated’ by airport security
A US woman claims she was violated during a recent experience with Los Angeles airport staff, in an incident which left her feeling “humiliated and violated".
Denise Albert, a high profile radio host was traveling for work when the alleged incident occurred.
The disturbing confrontation was captured on film.
Ms Albert is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and says the ordeal with airport security left her traumatised.
In a passionate blog post, Ms Albert claimed the security "aggressively attempted to do a body cavity search in public.”
She said she had informed staff about both her medical port and the prescription cream she was carrying with her.
She said she was asked to take off her shoes and explained that she could not do it because of an infection on her foot resulting from her chemotherapy and continuing immunotherapy medications.
She explained that putting her bare feet on the floor could risk further infection.
According to the TSA website, those with a TSA pre-check do not have to remove their shoes and those with medical conditions do not have to remove their shoes.
However, according to Ms Albert the security agents insisted she do so.
Ms Albert said she was then told she would be subjected to a head-to-toe pat-down with “pressure,” which concerned her because of the wig she wears, also as a result of her chemotherapy.
She said she “ripped” her wig off for the TSA agents, because she didn’t want it to be damaged, despite never having appeared in public without her wig since losing her hair to cancer treatment.
She then claims she was left to wait, cold and barefoot, for 20 minutes while TSA agents decided how to proceed in screening Albert and her medical cream before an agent put her hands down the back of her jeans.
She also claims an agent then also put their hands down her shirt.
On her blog, Ms Albert wrote: “The 2 TSA agents in my video went too far. I hope no one ever experiences this. I should also point out that according to the TSA website, what these agents did was improper procedure — they are not allowed to touch skin and should be gentle over clothing (contradiction to what you hear on video).”
“I should NOT have been required to remove shoes because of my medical condition and they were supposed to ask if I have a tender area and didn’t listen when I told them I did.”
She also claims that one TSA agent joked about “all of the eyelashes” Albert had in her carry-on bag.
Ms Albert explained to the agent that it was because she did not have real eyelashes as a result of her cancer treatment.
“I would have thought at that point, the humiliation would have ended,” Albert wrote.
And yet, as Albert’s video makes clear, this was clearly not the case.
She told People magazine: “There’s always people that say, ‘This is the TSA doing their job,’ and I completely understand, obviously, and appreciate all the security that goes into everyday travel, but this was out of line.”
She told the magazine that as upsetting as her experience was, since sharing it, she’s “heard from thousands of people from around the country that have had circumstances — whether it be of their own medical condition or a medical condition of a child — and so many people have experienced this, so obviously it’s not just me."
News break – December 8
