Dr. David Mandy: Special Needs Son Harassed by TSA at Detroit Metropolitan Airport
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Mandy family says they were on their way to the happiest place on earth(Disney), but had to go through hell to get there. "I realize they're trying to keep people safe, but come on, does he look like a terrorist?" said Dr. David Mandy.
The family was going through security when two TSA agents singled Drew Mandy out for a special pat down. Drew is severely mentally disabled. He's 29, but his parents said he has the mental capacity of a two-year-old, which made the experience that followed at metro Detroit's McNamera Terminal that much harder to deal with.
"You have got to be kidding me. I honestly felt that those two agents did not know what they were doing," Mandy told us.
Dr. Mandy claimed they asked Drew to place his feet on the yellow shoe line, something he didn't understand. They proceeded to pat his pants down, questioning the padding which was his adult diapers. When the agents asked Drew to take his hand and rub the front and back of his pants so they could swab it for explosives, his dad stepped in and tried to explain that Drew was mentally challenged.
"They said, 'Please, sir, we know what we're doing,'" Mandy said.
The TSA agents saw Drew holding a six-inch plastic hammer.
"My son carries his ball and his hammer for security. He goes everywhere with (them)," said Mandy.
The TSA it seems saw the toy as a weapon. "He took the hammer and he tapped the wall. 'See, it's hard. It could be used as a weapon,'" Mandy explained. "So, Drew's also holding the ball, and I said, 'Well, how about the ball?' He (said), 'Oh, he can keep that."
Dr. Mandy was told he would need to have the toy shipped if he wanted to keep it, a process which caused them to almost miss their plane, so he pitched it. "It just killed me to have to throw it away because he's been carrying this like for 20 years," Mandy said.
