TSA pat-down of shirtless boy, 8, adds fuel to the ire

He looked like Public Enemy No. 1 by the way security screeners were treating him -- and he's only 8 years old.

The little boy is seen on a disturbing Internet video being forced to take off his sweatshirt and stand bare-chested as he is surrounded by four airport-security agents, one of whom runs the back of his hand across the front of the boy's pants. The child is then sent on his way.

The video, taken last Friday at Salt Lake City International Airport, according to the YouTube user who uploaded it, was one of several troubling allegations against Transportation Security Administration screeners that came to light yesterday.

A Washington lobbyist revealed how he was traveling with his own 8-year-old son through Orlando Airport in Florida last week when the boy set off a metal detector, prompting Transportation Security Administration screeners to select him for an extra search.

The father, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters that the officer described the procedure to him before putting on gloves and conducting the search. The agent then patted down the boy in the open security area, using the backs of his hands to check his genital area, the dad said.

"I didn't think it was going to be as horrible as he was describing," the father said.

"We spend my child's whole life telling him that only Mom, Dad and a doctor can touch you in your private area, and now we have to add TSA agent, and that's just wrong."

Another Internet video, taken by a Tennessee TV reporter, shows the journalist's 3-year-old daughter screaming, "Stop touching me!" as a female screener pats her down before a recent trip.

Despite the backlash, TSA chief John Pistole told fliers to get used to it.

"If you're asking, am I going to change the policies? [The answer is] no," Pistole told CNN.

But, hours later, he appeared to soften his stand, saying the new screening methods should be "as minimally invasive as possible."

NY Post