By Matt Miller
Harrisburg-area attorney Justin McShane wasn’t at all surprised that the federal Transportation Security Administration posted failing marks in recent tests of security screenings at the nation’s airports.
His own travels through U.S. airports have left him starkly critical of the TSA’s competence.
And that’s not just his opinion.
A 10-minute video he shot with a cell phone several months ago documenting his experience going through security at Harrisburg International Airport proves his case, McShane said Wednesday.
The video, which has received thousands of views on YouTube, shows what McShane contends are violations of the TSA’s own protocols that resulted in his having to undergo an unnecessary and “invasive” pat-down.
The problem, he said, resulted from a TSA worker’s failure to wipe off chemicals from the counter before his laptop computer was run through the scanner. The result was a false positive for potential explosives, he said.
McShane, who is a lead player in the court battle over Harrisburg’s gun ordinances, said the airport video documents an apparent lack of training of one of the TSA officers and failure of the officers on duty to follow proper procedures.
Mike McCarthy, a TSA spokesman who said he viewed McShane’s video, said he couldn’t discuss the attorney’s contentions. “We can’t comment about our standard operating procedures,” McCarthy said.
McShane said that after the HIA incident he filed a freedom of information request seeking policy and procedure information from the TSA but was told that data is not public. A separate complaint he filed with the TSA over his HIA encounter “went nowhere,” he said.
A regular flier, McShane said he experienced a similar hassle over what he regards as TSA fumbling in Chicago as well.
His experiences have left him leery about American airport security.
“I have zero percent confidence that the TSA is effective in doing anything other than interfering with our everyday travel,” McShane said.
Watch McShane’s video and decide for yourself.
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