All, after being sexually assaulted at the Denver Airport, I am joining the campaign to try to get the TSA to change its policies. At this point, if you travel by airline, you have two choices: 1)Be put in a cancer box or 2)Be sexually assaulted.
If you would like to contact me on this post, please e-mail me at geoff@millennialstar.org. I would prefer not to have comments. Thanks.
Below is the letter I wrote to the TSA. It will be sent to many public officials and news outlets.
To whom it may concern:
On April 5, I was passing through the Denver Airport at about 3 p.m. The A gate security area had four open lines. Three of those lines involved passing through the backscatter x-ray machines. One of the lines passes through the traditional metal detector.
I got in line for the traditional metal detector. I travel about 20 times a year and do not think the radiation levels on the backscatter machines are safe. Researchers at Colombia University and UCSF have found that radiation is about 20 times the reported levels and do not feel the scanners are safe. The general public refers to these scanners as “cancer boxes.” Radiation levels from these scanners is as high or higher than the radiation reported from Three Mile Island and the Japanese nuclear reactors.
Even though I was in line for the traditional metal detector, I was picked out of line by an extremely rude TSA agent. I asked, “why are you harassing me? I was in this other line.” The rude agent called for his supervisor, who was later identified as Michael Depace. This supervisor immediately began threatening to throw me out of the airport. Keep in mind that at this time all I had done was ask a question. He said again that I needed to be searched and if I was rude to any of his employees who would throw me out of the airport.
I was taken to another area of the security area. A TSA agent with a beard (who later refused to give his name) began to sexually assault me. There is no other way to describe it. He repeatedly rubbed his hands over my buttocks and penis area. He thrust his hand down the front of my pants. All of the while Michael Depace watched with a satisfied smile on his face.
After the sexual assault ended, I asked Mr. Depace for his name and the name of his supervisor. He refused to give it to me. I then found a woman who wrote down her name on a card. Her name is Connie Levine (sp). I cannot read her writing exactly but her last name appears to start with “LE.” Connie also refused to give me any names, and called over a police officer to threaten me with arrest. I asked the officer is I was being detained, and the officer said I was not. The officer appeared to be embarrassed by the behavior of the TSA employees involved. Finally, Connie gave me her name and the name of Mr. Depace.
I would like to submit the following complaints:
–At all times the TSA employees involved were rude and abusive. They acted like Nazi prison guards. They appear to see the general public as their enemies, despite the fact that the public pays their salaries.
–I am asking that the employees involved, especially Mr. Depace, be terminated from employment at the TSA. They are incapable of dealing with the general public without resorting to abuse.
–The TSA should not be forcing people who want to peacefully ride an airplane into these cancer boxes. I ask that the TSA review this policy, which is a violation against the 4th amendment of the Constitution.
–The TSA has no right to physically search my body and touch my sexual organs. We teach our children that any attempt to touch their private parts is sexual abuse, but these children see blue-gloved tyrants sexually abuse travelers every time we travel through the airport. In addition to violating all moral standards, this policy debases our entire society.
–If any videos of my sexual assault and harassment are on file, I would like a copy forwarded to me immediately.
The TSA policy is a violation of everything that is good about America. Travelers are assumed to be guilty right from the beginning when all they want to do is get on an airplane. The policy creates an army of petty tyrants who begin to see the general public as their enemy. The policy forces the public to either A)damage their health by being exposed to excessive radiation or B)be subjected to sexual assault by uniformed guards.
I am copying my attorney and will be sending a copy of this complaint to news outlets and public officials both in Colorado and on a federal level. I expect a full investigation.