Guy Gets Caught With A Gun At The Airport

[Music] welcome to audit the audit where we sort out the who and what and the right and wrong of police interactions this episode covers the tsa firearm laws and civil penalties and is brought to us by code blue cam's channel be sure to check out the description below and give them the credit that they deserve on october 30th 2021 a tsa airport security officer at the la crosse regional airport in la crosse wisconsin identified the x-ray image of a handgun when screening the carry-on luggage of an 18-year military veteran and helicopter nurse who we will refer to as mr passenger tsa officials immediately contacted the la crosse police department and officer dan howe responded to the call he has a loaded firearm in there it's like it might be around a 10 millimeter clips loaded one is in the chamber um he says he used to be military he works right now as a helicopter nurse he's going on a speaking engagement and forgot it was in the bag it's in his checked bag no it's upstairs at the checkpoint so he was trying to get it on the plane he was carrying it with him as he was trying to go on the plane correct we're going a little bit at a stand still upstairs because until you retrieve the weapon out of the machine for us okay can't process anyone else forgot something in my squad i'm gonna grab my phone real quick i'll be right back with you guys hey it's officer hell hey um this guy up at the airport tried to try to have a well he had a loaded gun with one in the chamber in his bag that he tried to go through security with so that he forgot i didn't know so that's i figured i was responding up here because of a gun and a carry-on i mean in a check bag but it was in this carry-on so are we looking at any possible charges they had well right now the security checkpoint is shut down until i actually removed the gun from the scanner so i'm gonna hurry up and get up there so they can open up security again but can you call me back and let you find out okay sounds good thank you while on the phone with his supervisor officer howe explains that the tsa agents cannot remove the gun from the scanner and that they're waiting on him to retrieve it while the checkpoint remains inoperational the transportation security administration commonly known as the tsa is an agency of the united states department of homeland security that has authority over the security programs for transportation systems within and connecting to the united states the tsa was established by the federal aviation and transportation security act which was enacted on november 19 2001 mostly as a response to the september 11th airplane-based terrorist attacks in new york pennsylvania and virginia while the tsa handles security for a variety of transportation systems its primary focus is airport security under section 44901 of title 49 of the us code the tsa is responsible for quote the screening of all passengers and property that will be carried aboard a passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation the statute also requires that quote in the case of flights and flight segments originating in the united states the screening shall take place before boarding and shall be carried out by a federal government employee to complete the more than 2 million passenger screenings that are conducted each day the tsa utilizes transportation security officers or tsos who make up the majority of tsa officers tsos are not law enforcement officers and their role is to conduct screening of passengers baggage and cargo and inform a law enforcement officer or agency if an issue is detected according to the tsa's website tsos discover an average of nine firearms per day at airport security checkpoints here because it was a tso who spotted the firearm on the x-ray of mr passengers bag they were required to notify a law enforcement officer to handle the confiscation of the gun so we're not allowed to hand the firearm so we're gonna have to put them on it for us let's go can you tell if there's one in the chamber right there [Music] is any of this suspicious to you wiring all that wiring no no okay where's the place that i can i just want to make a firearm safe okay the gentleman here is going to take the back room so you can make the firearm safe he has to remove the bullets from it that's that's okay i apologize i completely forgot the firearm was in the back pocket of the bag it's in the back pocket of the bag yes i don't want you to touch it no there there's a a laptop yes and when i was packing my bag i didn't check the back pocket and that's where i normally keep my firearm when i work firearms unsafe it is unsafe what kind of gun is it it is a ruger safety guard and where do you work i work at gundersen hospital what do you do for them i'm a flight nurse and uh have you ever served in the military i have i'm a retired army officer how many years did you do in the army 18 where are you flying to today dallas for what i'm speaking at a national conference for air medical you don't normally pack a firearm in your checked bag i normally do but this trip is so short i chose not to not to take a firearm with me so i normally have it in the plastic box with the lock on it completely unloaded all the ammunition out of it in the original box as a tsa guideline as a tsa guideline which is what i normally do but i chose not to take a firearm this time and i just completely forgot that i had it in the back pocket of my backpack what time is your plane supposed to leave today uh 12 40 i think okay can i get you to wait out with this uh this gentleman out here sure officer howe asks mr passenger to step outside with the tsa agent and by following mr passengers instructions he immediately finds a loaded firearm in a separate zippered compartment of the backpack and removes it section 1540.111 of title 49 of the code of federal regulations states that quote an individual may not have a weapon on or about the individual's person or accessible property when performance has begun of the inspection of the individual's person or accessible property before boarding an aircraft for which screening is conducted or when the individual is attempting to board or onboard an aircraft for which screening is conducted on the other hand section 1540-111 goes on to say that while it is illegal for an individual to transport a firearm in their carry-on luggage whether loaded or unloaded a passenger may transport an unloaded firearm in their checked baggage as long as they declare the firearm to the aircraft operator before checking the bag and the firearm is carried in a locked hard-sided container for which only the passenger has the key or combination the tsa also prohibits firearm parts including magazines clips bolts and firing pins as well as replica firearms including firearm replicas that are toys in carry-on baggage but all of these items may be transported in checked luggage as we will discuss later in this episode both bringing an unloaded firearm with accessible ammunition and bringing a loaded firearm to an airport security checkpoint are subject to federal civil penalties and sometimes criminal liability despite this the tsa reported a sharp rise in the number of firearms that were detected at security checkpoints in the last several years in 2021 tsa officers detected 59 firearms at checkpoints which is a substantial increase from the previous record of 4432 firearms discovered in 2019. 86 of the firearms confiscated at airport security checkpoints were loaded and in early 2022 the u.s house of representatives homeland security transportation and maritime security subcommittee began discussions on how to address this issue during the hearing the general manager at the hartsfield-jackson atlanta international airport and the director of the miami international airport testified that about 90 to 95 of the citizens who were caught with firearms in their carry-on luggage claim just as mr passenger did that they forgot it was there the potential solutions discussed by the representatives include increased signage higher fines mandatory gun safety training revoking trusted traveler status placing violators on the no-fly list and improving the wages and treatment of tsa screeners however while the cause of the recent uprise in firearm detection at security checkpoints is unknown it seems clear that this incident involved a genuine mistake here's your bag back okay anyone just take a seat for me right now um i'm trying to identify if there's any criminal charges from this um obviously you let me know that it was an accident it appears to be an accident the uh the contents of your bag are consistent with what you say you're traveling for just kind of hang out right now you're not free to leave the firearm has been removed from your bag let me just work this out with my supervisor and we'll try to get you on your way all right okay very good officer howe explains that he needs to discuss the situation with his supervisor and the tsa to determine whether there will be any criminal charges because the tsa maintains jurisdiction over airport security a gun owner can be subject to federal civil penalties for bringing a weapon to an airport security checkpoint a civil penalty is not a criminal charge rather it's a monetary penalty for a regulatory violation such as attempting to bring a loaded firearm onto a plane in carry-on luggage civil penalties can even be imposed on travelers with a concealed carry license because the permit does not allow for a firearm to be carried into an airport or onto an airplane at the time an incident occurs the tsa does not inform the passenger of whether or not they will be assessed a civil penalty instead the tsos involved will forward information about the incident to the tsa's regulatory department to investigate whether the transportation security regulations were violated if the regulatory department determines that a violation has occurred and that a civil penalty will be assessed the tsa will send the individual a document called a notice of violation which informs them of the civil penalty and explains avenues for appeal under section 46303 of title 49 of the u.s code quote an individual who when on or attempting to board an aircraft has on or about the individual or the property of the individual a concealed dangerous weapon that is or would be accessible to the individual in flight is liable to the united states government for a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation in line with this statute the tsa's website indicates that the civil penalties for bringing a loaded firearm to a security checkpoint range from three thousand to ten thousand dollars in addition to a civil penalty passengers who violate prohibitions on loaded firearms and airports can face state local and federal charges in addition to civil liability section 46303 allows an individual to be fined and imprisoned for up to 10 years if they have a concealed dangerous weapon on their person or property when attempting to get on an aircraft however it should be noted that as the southern district court of ohio explained in the 2002 case of u.s vs hedrick although such language is not utilized the statute does require a finding that the defendant knew of the presence of the concealed dangerous weapon on his person at the time that he boarded the aircraft likewise individuals who bring a firearm to an airport security checkpoint can face additional charges under wisconsin law for instance under section 175.60 of the wisconsin statutes a concealed carry licensee can be fined up to 500 and in prison for up to 30 days if they carry the firearm in quote a place beyond a security checkpoint in an airport if an individual does not have a concealed carry license section 941.23 of the wisconsin statutes allows them to be charged with a class a misdemeanor which under section 939.51 of the wisconsin statutes is punishable by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars an imprisonment of up to nine months in this situation because mr passenger had a concealed carry license and credibly claims that he forgot he had the gun in his bag it's likely that he could only potentially be convicted of violating the terms of his concealed carry license and could also be subject to a civil penalty how do you guys normally handle something like this uh generally what happens is that we take his information i file a report it goes on to our review and then they do a legal review and determine if they want to levy fines on our side or not okay if they believe it was malicious they might actually come down really heavy they think it's not i've seen them go oh you know we have we have you on history with with the military we know your background all right we're gonna give you a pass this time so it can be anywhere from nothing to you know they throw the book at them but it's not it's not uh criminal incarceration it's generally just a monetary policy basically you know what we look for is that you know the weapons rendered safe it goes somewhere either just into his checked bag or in someone's custody where you know it doesn't you know doesn't have the potential to harm anyone on a plane and that's what what our interests are hey um so we're thinking that this was a genuine mistake i guess on their side of it further investigations may be done and it all comes down to documentation or repeated attempts or stuff like that can i just take it into safe keeping or actually my wife's here if you can turn it over to her his wife is here as well we can turn it over to his wife all right no charges um i believe it was a genuine mistake and uh you can turn the firearm over to your wife i can deliver it to her if you'd like that's her right there do you have any questions for me no sir i appreciate your help and i i genuinely apologize after allowing mr passenger to leave to catch his flight officer howe returned the firearm to mr passenger's wife who was waiting just outside the security checkpoint and left the airport without any further incidents overall officer howe gets an a-plus for maintaining a respectful and professional demeanor throughout the encounter clearly explaining what was happening to mr passenger at each stage of their interaction and choosing to avoid the needless escalation of a situation that was almost certainly the result of an honest mistake while officer hal likely would have been within his authority to arrest mr passenger and initiate criminal charges against him he instead decided to exercise his discretion to let him go with a warning not every interaction between citizens and police officers is inherently criminal in nature and a major aspect of policing is to determine whether or not criminal activity is present officer howe took the time to conduct a thorough investigation consulted with the tsa authorities and his own supervisor and gave mr passenger ample opportunity to offer an explanation before making the correct assessment that mr passenger was not intentionally breaking the law there are certainly law enforcement officers out there who would not have made the same decision as officer howe and i commend him for prioritizing community relationships and fair outcomes over his arrest statistics mr passenger gets a b because although i have no critiques of his behavior during this interaction and he navigated the situation nearly perfectly i cannot ignore the fact that he attempted to bring a firearm onto an airplane even though it seems obvious that this was a genuine mistake as a gun owner and concealed carry permit holder mr passenger has a responsibility to keep his firearms secure and accounted for while i have no doubts that this was an honest oversight it is absolutely vital that gun owners take steps to ensure that other members of society are not injured by their firearms and taking a weapon into an airport could potentially create or exacerbate a dangerous situation mr passenger also could have faced criminal charges or a civil penalty because of his heir and he's fortunate that the tsa and law enforcement officers involved exercise their discretion to allow for a more reasonable outcome that being said mr passenger's calm and respectful demeanor was likely a substantial factor in the peaceful resolution of this incident and it is very possible that the outcome would have been less positive if he had behaved differently this is one of the rare situations where offering police officers a clear explanation of the circumstances is beneficial and this encounter demonstrates how communicating basic facts about a situation can sometimes allow citizens to resolve issues with law enforcement quickly and amicably let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic you would like us to discuss in the comments below thank you for watching and don't forget to check out my second channel for even more police interaction content [Music] you

Channel: Audit the Audit

Views: 621,317

Keywords: amagansett press, first amendment audit, 1st amendment audit, auditing america, news now california, sgv news first, high desert community watch, anselmo morales, photography is not a crime, san joaquin valley transparency, first amendment audit fail, walk of shame, news now houston, police fail, 1st amendment audit fail, public photography, auditor arrested, police brutality, highdesert community watch, pinac news, cops triggered, news now patrick, east hampton

Id: 1XigImHNfnk

Length: 16min 31sec (991 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 04 2022