If this doesn’t make you angry, nothing will. 10 year old Vendela Brainerd-Payne was traveling with her family from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to San Diego during the holidays when she realized she forgot to take her Capri Sun out of her carry on bag.
Now, she’s only 10, and it’s just a juice box. It doesn’t sound like that big of a deal.
Wrong. She was stopped by a TSA agent and subjected to a full two minute pat down, all the while being filmed by her father, Kevin.
Not only does poor Vendela look horrified throughout the entire ordeal, her parents were outraged TSA would even consider searching a young child. Mr. Payne believes the whole thing was “excessive, uncomfortable, and inappropriate.”
Vendela was made to spread her arms and legs while a TSA agent proceeded to feel her legs, arms, and abdomen for hidden weapons.
“My dad was making funny faces — silly faces in the mirror and I felt like screaming the whole time,” Vendela expressed in an interview with NBC San Diego.
While TSA agents are required to follow a specific protocol when confronted with different situations, the Payne family believe this event took things a bit too far. Mr. Payne’s video, wherein the TSA agent can be seen patting down every inch of his daughter’s body, has been posted to YouTube and has over 17,000 views.
“I just kept it as calm, cool, compliant as possible, and she followed suit,” Payne said in an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune. “Deep down I was absolutely fuming, but I knew letting emotions out was only going to worsen the situation for everybody.”
When asked about the incident, the TSA was quick to say that everything was done within the approved procedures. According to them, Vendela’s phone alarm went off during the search, prompting further measures to be taken.
“TSA screening procedures allow for the patdown of a child under certain circumstances,” a spokesperson for the TSA told ABC News. “The process by which the child was patted down followed approved procedures.”
What started out as a simple plane ride home turned into something Vendela won’t soon forget. According to ABC News, Mr. Payne plans to file charges against the TSA agent.
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