Ethics

TSA Harasses Traveler for Carrying Cash

By Ed Brayton

This is pure harassment by the TSA and the police of a traveler for nothing more than carrying $4700 in cash. The TSA and police officers are belligerent and threatening and the man stays completely calm and asks perfectly reasonable questions about the state of the law. The officers simply do not like having their authority questioned, so they declare him "suspicious" because he dares to question on what legal basis they've detained and are questioning him.

The victim, Steve Bierfeldt, did absolutely nothing wrong. Below the fold, a clip from a TV show that includes a recording of the confrontation. Since I routinely travel with amounts of cash similar to this, especially when I go to Vegas, I find this very bothersome. The legally valid answer to being asked why he's carrying that much cash is "None of your business. Unless you have probable cause to show that I've violated some law, it is none of your business."

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on April 05, 2009 (boomark / email).