Three elderly people with knives arrested at Palm Beach airport

Drudge | April 4, 2002 | AP

[SLB]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - (AP) -- Three passengers in their 70s were arrested and later released in separate incidents at Palm Beach International Airport for allegedly trying to board flights while carrying knives.

Security screeners found the knives in carry-on luggage during routine checks early Wednesday, airport sheriff's deputies said.

Authorities charged each traveler with carrying a concealed weapon, a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to a year in the county jail and a $1,000 fine. The FBI declined to press federal charges.

According to sheriff's records, Harold Shepard, 71, of New York, told deputies he was not carrying knives. Officers said they arrested Shepard after finding a knife with a 7 ½-inch blade in a box that was taped shut. He was later released from jail on $250 bond.

In the other incidents, Elizabeth Napleton, 76, of Illinois, and Stanley Reinhart, 79, of California, were issued notices to appear in court and allowed to board their flights. Authorities did not release their hometowns.

Napleton told deputies that she had meant to check the briefcase containing the knives, but later decided to bring it on the plane, authorities said.

Reinhart was stopped while carrying a steak knife with a 5-inch blade packed in his shaving kit, authorities said. Reinhart said he had just driven across the country and had kept the knife to cut his food while he was staying in hotels.

[discostu]

Yes it could. A - that unknown number could be 0, B - check with your local law enforcement. While being armed helps protect you it's not a certainty. In crowd control situations criminals have the upper hand for a number of reasons (crowds are actually less likely to resist than individuals, sociologists have some rather unflattering theories to that one).

Anybody that's read Sudden Death 4 knows that unless your naked in a featureless room you're always well aremd (and even naked in a featureless room you're not too bad off), but people don't tend to resist bad guys. Armed criminals that have shown a willingness to do violence are from outside our normal reality and the most common reaction to them is to do what you're told. Even though many self defense experts (and street cops) will tell you you're better off resisting most people don't. Even if they're better armed than the bad guy.

[Deguello]

Well, they do have that disclaimer on the back of your ticket. Something about not being responsible for lost or stolen items and other "incidents".

[B Knotts]

ROFL. I'll keep that in mind if I ever fly again.

[Risky Schemer]

I advise bringing chainsaws on board. They are not in the list of prohibited items and they fit neatly into overhead luggage.

Yeah, but then you have to carry bar oil, chain sharpening files, fuel mix, wrench for chain adjustment, etc. If you are dismembering and sawing up an on-board terrorist and accidently hit a belt buckle, you have to stop and resharpen, adjust the chain, and so forth. After several terrorists this can become quite a nuisance.

I prefer flame throwers. Like chainsaws, "Flame throwers" aren't on any list of prohibited items. Flame throwers have several advantages. They are self contained, use once, throw away. And they are easily carried on the back, and, like chainsaws, stow neatly in the overhead compartment.

[scottiewottie]

Well aged cheese is not on the list! Never underestimate the power of Gouda! Even the passives and the enviros will respect the pungent smell of well aged cheese. Brie, brie, will make us free! Weaponized American Cheddar, for freedom.

[Squantos]

Hey ! Neither is my ex-wifes mother in law on the 28th day but I don't propose to unleash that weapon either ! That's covered in the Geneva Convention I believe........under mothers.....

Stay Safe Laz !

[discostu]

I still think that went out the minute we found out the plane could be used against people not on the plane. None of the people in the towers were, at that moment, customers or either airline, but the security lapse affected them just as much as it did the passengers. Really that is the point when the government should be stepping in, when people who aren't involved get involved for reasons that have nothing to do with their actions or decisions, that's a job for the government. But they need to step in smartly. What the government is best at is setting and enforcing standards, what the government really sucks at is enacting standards. Unfortunately that's exactly what the government is doing right now.

Also let's not forget that effectively every airport in the country is a border. We all agree here that the government should be doing a better job securing our borders, well you can fly into any airport in the country from someplace outside the country so they are borders.

[steve-b]

Sending a message of "you know all those security measures you thought you had, well you do now" isn't going to strike fear in the hearts of potential hijackers. A message of "not only are we going to fix our existing security, but we're adding more" does.

And the actual message sent to anyone paying attention -- "we're going to set up a lot of impressive-looking rigamarole that doesn't actually work" -- does what? Causes potential hijackers to laugh themselves to death?

[SLB]

We have a couple of pretty sharp MI folks here. I will send the picture to them. Let them use their skills.

[scottiewottie]

..and it works so well for them.

[discostu]

Poor application of the general protection clause and the 14th ammendment. Unfortunately any time cops are on the receiving end of suits based on this poor application they lose (even if they win the court case they still lose public confidence and these days that tends to result in riots). It's not that PC is legal, it's that every cop in the nation craps himself whenever somebody says "civil rights".

[Squantos]

My first thought was a "Linda" or "Steyr TMP" .........Doh !

Stay Safe !

[discostu]

The best security is the most visible, even with poor effectiveness if it looks cool it's good. That's the stuff that convinces bad guys to go hassle someone else. Of course if something is actually important you should have a secondary invisible layer because eventually you'll always find a bad guy willing to take the time to figure out how to get around the visible stuff.

[scottiewottie]

LOL! Yes, flame throwers gets my vote! Starting the chainsaw forfiets many precious minutes. Too bad they don't cut firewood.

[scottiewottie]

I don't need a border check for my commuter flight. The INS does not need to check the fight from LAX to SFO.(Okay, maybe they do need to check that one.)

[SLB]

Which should I carry?
Poulan with a 14' bar.
Baby Mac with a 12" bar (great for trimming trees)
Stihl with a 16" bar.

Would it be better to take the Baby Mac and carry it concealed? The Stihl has a very nice plastic case. So many decisions!

[B Knotts]

I have that 14" Poulan, too. Carry that, so I won't stand out with mine.

[B Knotts]

Well, it boils down to this: as of right now, airports and commercial airliners are self-defense-free-zones. I will not fly, because I refuse to submit to such idiocy.

There should be a Federal Air Travel CCW, available to any citizen who passes a background check and a safety course (which the citizen pays for, so it would be pretty much revenue-neutral). When that is in operation, I will consider flying on the airlines again.

P.S.: Note that I said citizen.

[B Knotts]

I should add that my reasoning for supporting a Federal Air Travel CCW, stems from, in addition to the fact that CCW holders are more responsible with their weapons than LEOs, the sheer number of flights, which dictates by necessity that we simply cannot afford to put air marshals on every flight. So, a lot of people are flying around right now with zero protection once they clear the security gates.

[Beenliedto]

The excuse for cutting food is ridiculous.

It most certainly is not.

I've been carrying a paring knife in my shaving kit for many years for just that reason. Grab a box of crackers, some cheese and a bottle of wine and save big bucks over room service.

And I bet I wouldn't even think about it if I were packing for a commercial plane trip.

Which is why I never fly commercial.