Thread: Deputies Tasers subdue Calif. passenger fighting with TSA screeners

Jan 10, 2012

Tasers subdue Calif. passenger fighting with TSA screeners

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY Updated 43m ago

Deputies at Sacramento International Airport used Tasers to subdue a passenger who fought with TSA personnel after refusing to pass through security screening to retrieve something he left aboard his flight, the Sacramento Bee tells us.

The unidentified passenger was taken to a hospital for a "precautionary evaluation," a sheriff's spokesman said. He did not know what the man had left behind.

The incident began about 1:30 p.m. PT (4:30 p.m. ET) after the passenger refused to let his carry-on bag be screened so he could return to the plane. He began arguing with Transportation Security Administration screeners, and after deputies intervened, the argument "turned into a physical altercation, and deputies used Tasers several times on the man before he stopped fighting," the Bee writes.

Alas, no details so far about the airline, the flight, the passenger or possible charges.

Tasers subdue Calif. passenger fighting with TSA screeners

Deputies use Taser on man at Sacramento airport

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com
The Sacramento Bee
Last modified: 2012-01-11T17:56:20Z
Published: Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 - 12:00 am| Page 1B
Last Modified: Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 - 9:56 am

We've all been there: flying and frustrated and ready to flip out.

But what exactly caused a New Hampshire man to lose his cool at Sacramento International Airport's security checkpoint after he landed Tuesday afternoon still was not clear to authorities by nightfall.

As local and federal officials debriefed for hours, 26-year-old Edwin Barton went from a hospital to jail, accused of two misdemeanor crimes and, most likely, a little sore from three jolts from a Taser.

Barton's scuffle with the law began about 1:30 p.m., when he exited a Southwest flight, walked out of the airport's secure area and into the baggage claim area of new Terminal B before realizing he had left something on the plane, said Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

The Transportation Security Administration agent who greets arriving passengers wouldn't let Barton run back to the gate, and after some arguing, the agent directed Barton to the ticketing counter for a pass allowing him back in the secure area, Ramos said.

But, like all passengers, Barton had to go through security, Ramos said. That's where his good judgment appeared to depart.

Barton became argumentative with TSA agents, Ramos said, and when he had to place his bag on a conveyor belt at the screening device, Barton allegedly grabbed it and ran toward the boarding areas. Nearby sheriff's deputies tried to stop him, but he spun out of their grasp and kept running, Ramos said.

A deputy deployed his Taser, shocking Barton once. But when he tried pulling the Taser's barbs out, deputies shocked him twice more until he was subdued, Ramos said.

Barton was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, then booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail. Though suspects accused of misdemeanor crimes typically are cited and released on site, Barton was booked because he is not a California resident, Ramos said.

After the incident, deputies could find nothing to explain Barton's behavior, Ramos said.

"Nothing would have compromised the security of the airport. There was no contraband, nothing illegal on his person or in his bag," he said. "It's a big question mark as to why he took the actions he did." Ramos said the dust-up caused a brief backup in the security checkpoint line, but no flights were affected.

Apparently, Tuesday was a bad day for lots of other folks, too. Ramos said Barton's booking was held up by an unusually long line of suspects at the Main Jail.

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