Mistreatment of 7-Year-Old Girl With Cerebral Palsy puts TSA Under Fire (again) | April 26, 2012

Yahoo Trending Now ; report By Melissa Knowles

The Transportation Security Administration is under scrutiny for its treatment of a 7-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. When Dina Frank traveled through New York's JFK International Airport with her parents, she and her family were pulled out of line as they tried to board their plane.

The airport's TSA agents and the Franks are in dispute over how the family was treated at security after Dina endured what the Franks referred to as an "exceptionally aggressive screening." Dina walks with the aid of metal crutches and leg braces, so she can't go through a traditional metal detector and has to be manually patted down. Dina's parents say that she is developmentally disabled and often gets frightened by the procedure, so they often request that TSA agents introduce themselves before screening Dina.

Her father, Dr. Joshua Frank, began taping the screening with his iPhone, but said that he was screamed at, cursed at, and threatened as he tried to document what was happening. The Franks said a supervisor eventually allowed them to go to their gate, having decided that inspecting the crutches was acceptable.

However, an hour after the family had arrived at their departure gate, TSA agents showed up and said the Franks would need to return to the security area for an additional screening. By the time the family had returned to the gate after Dina's rescreening, their flight had departed.

Dr. Frank, a pediatrician from Long Island, and his wife, Marcy, believe their daughter was unfairly singled out. He says he understands that the TSA is charged with protecting national security, but says "they're harassing people" and have a "totally misguided policy."

On social media, people are generally agreeing with the Franks, with one person tweeting "Is this really necessary?"

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/tsa-under-fire-mistreatment-7-old-girl-cerebral-164507761.html