TSA Detained Wheelchair Bound Toddler In St. Louis [Video]

Published on: February 20, 2013 at 11:45 AM

The TSA detained a wheelchair-bound little girl on her way to a dream vacation. The Transportation Security Administration allegedly took away the 3-year-old girl’s stuffed doll and refused to allow her parents to videotape the airport pat-down.

Nathan Forck, the wheelchair-bound toddler’s father, stated that the TSA treated his daughter like a criminal. The parents also felt that they, by extension, were treated like law-breakers as well. The detainment of the little girl reportedly happened at the Lambert-St. Louis Airport.

The Forck family was on the way to Disney World for a vacation. Lucy is restricted to a wheel chair because of Spina bifida. The family also includes two other older children, The Blaze notes.

During an interview with Fox News , Nathan Forck had this to say:

“They specifically told me that they were singling her out for this special treatment because she’s in a wheelchair. They are specifically singling out disabled people for this special scrutiny. It’s rather offensive to me as a father of a disabled child.”

After the family had already passed the Lambert-St. Louis Airport checkpoint, Lucy was allegedly patted down and her wheelchair swabbed. Annie Forck, the mother, took out her camera to film the entire incident. She maintains that TSA agents told her that filming the pat-down was illegal.

The mother, who is an attorney, was adamant that her daughter could not be touched unless she was able to record the TSA pat-down. She can be heard on the video asking the St. Louis airport agents to cite the law which makes taping the security procedure illegal.

When Forck refused to put down her video camera, she was reportedly surrounded by a group of TSA agents. One St. Louis TSA agent was allegedly told to guard Lucy personally. When Lucy’s “Lamby” was confiscated, the toddler with Spina bifida was reduced to tears.

The little girl cries out that she doesn’t want to go to Disney World simply to make the scary incident stop and to retrieve her beloved stuffed animal. The St. Louis TSA incident reportedly last a half an hour.

What do you think about the TSA detaining a wheelchair bound little girl?

[Image Via: Carolina K. Smith MD/Sutterstock.com ]

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