Memphis airport TSA workers says he forgot about handgun in bag

From The Commercial Appeal:

http://m.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/aug/26/memphis-airport-TSA/

 

Wasn't some "celebrity" also arrested this week for a gun in his bag? Loaded pistols are reasonably heavy and it seems odd that so many people manage to forget they're carrying one, particularly through an airport.

 

What pray tell is the point of carrying a pistol about if you can't remember whether you have one or not?

 

This Isolated Incident™ reminds me of good old Alvin Crabtree in Denver.. Bet's on when the guy in MEM is back on the job?

http://www.kdvr.com/kdvr-tsaworkerbringsguntowork-6389294,0,2040975.story

 

I strongly agree. I always know where my weapons are. There is no excuse for not knowing. None. Period.

 

I clearly understand how bad this looks for TSA. However, what many of you overlook is that this has nothing to do with TSA and has everything to do with how the legal system works. And if we had any resident lawyers, I'm sure they would agree that it all boils down to how things are argued in the courtroom. I don't know if this went to court; just saying that a good lawyer can get a client out of what may seem like an open-and-shut case, especially if there's a technicality involved over whether or not the weapon was loaded.

As for TSA, I don't know if they have a clause which calls for termination similar to the military's "for the good of the service." I'm not an H/R person. However, if Crabtree was in the military and something like this happened, the public embarrassment not the actual infraction itself, could have been the basis for his removal from service.

So much for the myth about TSA being a para-military organization.

 

So much for people being held responsible for there actions. If crabtree wasnt charged then no one should be. lead by example not do as I say not as I do (IE TSA 99.99999999999999999% of the time)

 

There's also no excuse for the continued employment of someone in a "security" position who is so stupid as to be incapable of keeping track of their own weapon.

 

Pretty much even though i may not feel my sidearm but i know by muscle memory exactly where it is and can get it to, but this comes from lots of practice and training. The only items that i forget about are there are my custom boot knives because i dont use them that often.

 

I understand why you would post that. I don't know the behind-the-scenes story. I'm just pointing out that there is probably some legal technicality that may have saved Crabtree from getting fired. You want to pin the blame on TSA when the actual "blame" may be rule of law.

I've had similar circumstances when I was a commander in the Army. One of my civilian employees was implicated in a conflict-of-interest investigation. He was accused of using his unique intelligence expertise for personal gain through some association with a private security company attempting to win over a government contract. To me, it seemed like a pretty clear case of conflict-of-interest, and I believed he could be fired immediately and I could hire a replacement. The legal weenies at JAG told me to hold my horses, they explained all the legal mumbo-jumbo, and it turned out that I couldn't do (expletive deleted). The best I could do was suspend him from access to certain information but I couldn't even suspend his security clearance. In other words, I could use administrative procedures to isolate him but no punitive actions. Yeah, baffled me. All I'm saying is that a similar situation may apply with Crabtree; that's pure speculation on my part.

 

From KABC in Los Angeles:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8340737

 

As I understand the Crabtree incident Crabtree's vehicle broke down on the way to work. He had a handgun in the vehicle and instead of leaving the weapon in the vehicle on the side of the road he took the weapon with him.

Where things get murky is what should he have done and could he have turned it over to police or someone before entering the secure area. He apparently did enter the secure area with the weapon and that act is what caused the controversy.

 

I don't know of any armed TSOs or any TSA employees, for that matter, except for FAMs. I'm curious why KABC specifically mentioned that TSA employees are armed.

 

I agree with you that Crabtree probably should have been fired. I'm just sharing a personal experience where legal technicalities can complicate what may seem to you and I as an obvious open-and-shut case.

 

I didn't express the opinion that Crabtree should be fired, just my understanding of the event. I tried very hard to not mix in my opinion in the earlier response.

 

Who should get fired is Pistole.

 

NO, Pistole should be made the main bitch at the SuperMax!

 

I'll settle for fired. Of course they'd probably replace him with Qaddafi, he needs a job I guess.

 

There are also some liason positions that are armed (such as AFSD-LEO), and some investigations members I think I remember reading about some of them being armed as well. Most of the armed individuals participating in VIPRs are FAMs and/or local LEOs working in conjunction.

 

Yes, but that's something the media maggots fail to mention, and it gets the fanatics all worked up.