Young Mom Sues Power-Happy Airport Guards

By JAMIE ROSS
Courthouse News Service
Dec. 16, 2011

PHOENIX (CN) - A young mother claims Transportation Security Administration agents mocked her for 40 minutes and made her stand in a glass enclosure in front of other airline passengers because she requested an alternate screening process so her breast milk would not be exposed to radiation.

Stacey Armato sued the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA and four TSA agents for false imprisonment, false light, intentional infliction of emotional distress and federal torts.

Armato says she was traveling from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2010 "with breast milk for her 7 month old son's dinner feeding. She requested an alternate screening process for the breast milk so it was not exposed to radiation. Plaintiff even had a printout of the TSA's own guidelines - guidelines that had been in effect since July 20, 2007. These TSA agents, however, remembering her from the week before, retaliated against her for requesting alternate screening of her breast milk. Plaintiff was forced to stand in a glass enclosure in front of all the other passengers for over 40 minutes, where she was frequently harassed and abused by TSA agents. Plaintiff was specifically singled out for no other reason than to humiliate," according to the complaint.

Armato says the TSA employees "at this specific security checkpoint decided to make an example and humiliate plaintiff for filing a complaint against them the week prior."

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