Another Big Catch for the TSA

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rbernie

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Officials: Man Says Penis Pump Is a Bomb

CHICAGO (AP) -- Cook County prosecutors say a 29-year-old man traveling with his mother desperately didn't want her to know he'd packed a sexual aid for their trip to Turkey. So he told security it was a bomb, officials said.

Madin Azad Amin, 29, of Skokie, was stopped Aug. 16 after guards found an object in his baggage that resembled a grenade, prosecutors said. When officers asked him to identify it, Amin said it was a bomb, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto. He later told officials he'd lied about the item because his mother was nearby and he didn't want her to hear that it was part of a penis pump, Scaduto said.

He's been charged with felony disorderly conduct, said Andrew Conklin, a spokesman with the Cook County state's attorney's office. Amin's attorney told a Cook County judge Wednesday that Amin whispered that the component was a "pump." The guard misunderstood, and thought he said "bomb," according to defense attorney Eileen O'Neill-Burke. "He told her it's a pump," O'Neill-Burke said. "He's standing with his mother. Of course he's not going to shout this out." However, Judge Gerald Winiecki decided there was sufficient evidence for the case to move forward after the female security guard testified that she heard Amin "clearly" say the word bomb.

Amin is charged with felony disorderly conduct, which could bring a three-year prison sentence if he's convicted. Amin is due back in court Sept. 13. He told the Chicago Sun-Times after the hearing that security officials did not give him a chance to explain the misunderstanding, that he would never use the word "bomb" while going through a security checkpoint, and does not consider a penis pump an unusual object to own.

"It's normal," he said. "Half of America they use it."
 
Well, if you are a Moslem, you can still be respectable taking a bomb on a plane, but not a penis pump.:rolleyes:

Lesser of two evils, I guess.
 
Hmmmm... While I can understand not wanting one's parent to know about the device, his actions are just plain foolish.

I've wondered occasionally what I'd say to the security folks if I had cause to carry or check an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Talk about potential for misunderstanding... :what:
 
Sindawe, trust me, I'd never use the word bomb in the description. I might even avoid the word Oxygen. I'd explain to them that it was a calorimeter. If they asked further, it's a device to measure the heat generated during chemical experiments. If they still kept pressing, I'd ask to explain it to a supervisory type in the hope that they're a little less prone to knee jerk reactions to anything containing the word "bomb".
 
I would not be surprised if he really did whisper "pump" and the TSA misunderstood and freaked out.
Quite possible especially if he has an accent as I suspect is possible from the final quote from him.
 
Amin is charged with felony disorderly conduct, which could bring a three-year prison sentence if he's convicted.

Has anyone noticed this? He is NOT being charged with plotting to blow up a plane or subverting airline security or making terroristic threats (another awesome government catch all charge). He's being charged with felony disorderly conduct. First of all, *** is a FELONY disorderly conduct. I don't really see "felony" and a mere "disorderly conduct" belonging in the same sentence.

Second, and more importantly, he's being charged with a felony that could end many of his rights and send him to prison for bringing something through security that is perfectly legal because security MISUNDERSTOOD what it was. He is being charged for their mistake!!

I apologize for all the shouting. But I'm apalled that this man is facing hard time because some TSA idiots were stupid. Once it was determined that what he was carrying was harmless, he should have been sent on his way with their apologies. Or, at most, a warning to be clear about what he was carrying. As it is, he's in legal limbo and his vacation is shot because he doesn't even go back to court for another three weeks.


I don't think it's possible to overstate how disgusted I am by this...
 
Phantom,

I agree with you. TSA has long since passed the boundary of common sense, and people's lives are being altered (and worse) over the most mundane things. I mean, seriously, when you ask a guy what something is, if it truly is a bomb, is he going to tell you that? No way! So it had to be a mixup of some kind, and TSA should have checked it out and let him go.

Government!:barf:
 
Phantom Warrior and hawkman: "Jokes" with the word "bomb" have been the cause of detention and charges since long before 9/11 and TSA. Gotta go all the way back to, "Take this plane to Havana!"

And this isn't really worth THR bandwidth, anyway. Penis Pump ha, ha, ha and all that trivia...

Art
 
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