"All I wanted is something to eat! They drew First Blood!"
Sorry, but by the time I read the end of the article, I can’t say that the officers were so much in the wrong. Especially since this is written from his side of the story.
It’s a “he said, he said” right now.
Memo to England, don’t take soda on to plane like the rest of us.
If you must, from OC to LV is a quick 4 hour drive and you can drink all the way.
He should watch the Chris Rock video of how not to get beaten by the police....
Sounds like the Sargeant might be happier living in a country run by a military dictatorship.
And England was clearly in the wrong:
"1. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller.
2. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag.
3. Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items."
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm
“I know it sounds weird, but I have a problem being in the military and having some civilian tell me I’m wrong when I actually thought I was right,” England said. “If I’m wrong, I’ll admit I’m wrong. But it was their attitude they were giving me” that bothered him.”
I have a problem with that statement.
The TSA is retarded.
You are right England, this does sound weird. Thanks for your service and all, but I could really do without this kind of attitude. Why even make the distinction?
Well, just based on what’s written here, it sounds to me like the soldier was looking for trouble. We’ll see what the tapes come up with.
Ummm... Sarge, lemme tell you a little secret: You can harrass the E3s and E4s all you want, but DO NOT harrass the police!
Thank you for your service, Sgt. England. Now quit acting like an a*****e.
Well .. the video will clear this up and what really happened
If I were a cop, that would scream resisting arrest and trying to escape. When you are at that point you have two options - surrender or fight for your life and accept the consequences afterward. Taking the middle ground of being a pain in the ass to the cops will just cause more problems.
The officer then pulled out a baton and yelled at him to get on the floor, England said.
[what happened in this gap between the paragraphs?]
He said the officer hit him multiple times with the baton, breaking three ribs on his left side and injuring his hand and head. Another officer then shocked him with a Taser at least three times, England said.
Did he get on the ground when ordered, or did he resist arrest.
In my opinion, this is a story with a lot of $*#holes all around, including the sergeant.
1. The soldier felt he was being mistreated, and granted, the rules are juvenile and bothersome, but he reacted unwisely and stupidly.
2. TSA and airport cops are complete thugs. They'll gladly hand you your ass if you give them the slightest excuse.
Being an Iraqi vet myself, I thought I was pretty good at dealing with guards. Still, I had a close encounter with airport security that almost got me hauled out of my car and arrested because I couldn't hear what he was saying and didn't understand his directions. I asked him to repeat himself because of the nearby traffic. He thought I was giving him lip, and moved in with the focused crazyeye that only a overstressed cop feeling threatened can give. I had to back down fast as he signalled for help and was clearly ready to get physical, and even then he hit my rental car with his fist as I drove off.
I was utterly dumbfounded. Guys manning checkpoints in Iraq handle people with more dignity and professionalism than anything you'd find in an American airport. It's a disgrace. That said, the soldier in the article above needs to understand that, and act accordingly.
"All I wanted is something to eat! They drew First Blood!"
However, back in the day I remember being muscled against a wall at LAX by a number of (then) security people...
Based on one security guy who took offense at "all those buttons and ribbons" and demanded that I remove any part of my uniform (I still have trouble calling a jacket a 'blouse') with offending metal bits.
Could well be that after several years of ratcheting security schemes today's TSA is experiencing the same sort of animosity toward the troops they see day after day.