A 74-year-old grandmother on her way to New York for Pesach was arrested at Palm Beach International Airport Wednesday, after she refused to be screened and pushed a deputy.
The woman reportedly argued with Transportation Security Administration staff, according to a Palm Beach County sheriff’s probable cause affidavit.
After a deputy asked her to calm down and lower her voice, the woman placed her hands on deputy Margaret Picerno and pushed the law officer, according to the report. Picerno then put the woman in a chair and handcuffed her.
The woman was then taken to a local hospital to be checked after she complained of illness, and was in the Palm Beach County Jail Wednesday night on $3,000 bail.
“This is so crazy,” the womans daughter told the Palm Beach Post, . ”You close your eyes and think it’s a … nightmare and it’s Passover.”
(Source: Palm Beach Post / Lipas)
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12 Responses
Before rushing to judge and say “ANOTHER” keep in mind this is an elderly lady, quite possibly a holocaust survivor (and that alone would explain the the fear of being searched), but clearly someone who is ill.
Much much much different then a regular shlemazel being frum on other people’s cheshbonos
This is odd, is there some info missing in this story?
What she supposidly did I wont comment on but what I will say is that there are a number of TSA agents who when you pass thru security feel like they are related to the germans yemach sh’mom v’zichrom. They need to be taught how to talk to people without SCREAMING.
People have to be patient and realize that the security people are working for their and our own safety. Why make tense pressures worse?Please follow up on these stories and inform us what REALLY happened.
“This is so crazy,’’ the womans daughter told the Palm Beach Post, . ‘’You close your eyes and think it’s a … nightmare and it’s Passover.”
WELL SHE DID IT TO HERSELF
IF true, this would be a clear chilul hashem, unlike the previous airplane story.
This sounds like the case in The Bronx in which a female security officer at a large apartment complex thrust an innocent person in the chest.
Of course had the person responded without escalation it would have been twisted around to sound like this case.
The security department in that case settled out of court paying an undisclosed amount.
It would be interesting to see how this deputy abused the kindly grandmother to push her to this sort of result, and why she was randomly chosen for this treatment.
I also wonder if this deputy was trained in the police art of sticking a thumb into an innocent person’s armpit to the point of making them squirm and give the appearance of violently resisting the gentle pursuasion of a police officer’s arm!
Is this an opinion column that YWN describes whether something is a chillul hashem or not? Keep to reporting, and yes let us have more details. If you can’t, at least present the story as a very unclear story that happened and needs further clarification. That would be honest reporting!
#4 KAJ,
No they arent.. they are a politicaly correct government agency that would rather screen a grandmother than a 20 year old saudi arabian.
Dont judge this lady the report wasnt clear and i dont understand why the head line is how it is
A colleague says:
that contra #4, the security people aren’t doing anything except to disarm potential victims of hijackers.
And:
I’d have brought up the case of Carol Gotbaum, killed by security at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport last October.
Would our reaction be any different if this was an Arab woman, who maybe decided to die as a martyr, rather than of old-age?