TSA Groping Scheme In Denver Ends With Male And Female Worker Fired

Two Transportation Security Administration employees at the Denver International Airport have gotten in hot water over what has come to be known as the TSA “groping scheme.”

Two TSA workers, whose identities have not been shared, are accusing of groping more than 10 men while working at the Denver airport. The TSA has called the incident “deplorable” according to CNN, and the TSA workers have been fired.

So how exactly did this groping scheme actually occur? Well, it took two TSA employees to do it, but as CNN outlined, it went along these lines.

“When the male TSA officer noticed a man he found attractive, he would alert a female TSA officer…The female officer would then tell the screening machine that a female passenger — not a male — was walking through. And that information would trigger a machine to register an anomaly in the groin area, prompting the male TSA officer to pat down the passenger.”

The serious problem with that, which makes it a case of groping, is that the male official “used the palms of his hands to touch the passenger’s front groin area and buttocks, which violates TSA policy.”

According to the NY Daily News, the whole scheme came to a screaming halt because of an “internal whistleblower.” The whistleblower came forward back in November of 2014, but it wasn’t until February 9 that TSA officials actually saw the scheme taking place.

Chris Higgins, a TSA official, finally came out to the Denver airport on February 9 and caught the two gropers in question. When Higgins interviewed the female TSA officer involved, she told him that “she had done this with her colleague at least 10 other times.”

The two TSA officers involved in the groping scheme were fired following this investigation.

While the investigation showed the male who had been groped was a passenger on Southwest Airlines, they have been unable to fully identify this victim, or any others for that matter.

And it hasn’t just been the TSA that has been investigating the misdeeds of these two officers. The Denver Police Sex Crimes Unit has also gotten involved, although, according to the NY Daily News they “have so far declined to file charges because they view a conviction as unlikely.”

The TSA, which has faced scrutiny for its security measures in the past, submitted a comment to CNN on the incident.

“These alleged acts are egregious and intolerable…All allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated by the agency. And when substantiated, employees are held accountable.”

While the TSA groping scheme has ended, police and officials are waiting to see if any victims come forward to press charges.

[Photo Courtesy of Sixmilliondollardan/Flickr]