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Family claims TSA mistreated disabled daughter
A family says they had to live out a nightmare with their disabled daughter a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.
OCALA, Fla. - A Florida family is demanding changes in the Transportation Security Administration.
Kristen and Mazalee Keene, of Ocala, are the wife and daughter of a man killed on Sept. 11, 2001. He was working in Tower 2 when the plane hit it, so they said, of all people, they understand the importance of TSA. They did not understand why things had to be handled as they were in this case, though.
When Mazalee "Mazi" Keene was 19, she was diagnosed with a neurological brain disorder called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy.
Her being alive today at all is a miracle – doctors thought the disease would be fatal. She’s alive, but she’s left with major damage to her frontal lobe. She can’t control her movements and is no longer able to speak. She was also left with dysautonomia, meaning her body doesn’t regulate her heart rate, blood pressure, and other functions well.
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"We have to have a handle on her at all times," explained Mazi’s mom, Kristen. "She can't control her body."
The family flew to Roanoke, Virginia, to talk with doctors who could help Mazi.
"This was our first time out since all this happened," said Keene. However, the TSA’s behavior, she said, "was egregious. It was over the top."
Keene says she warned three different TSA agents about her daughter’s condition.
"This lady's telling her to stop there. Put your feet on these feet and hold your hands out. And I said, ‘You're not understanding. She has frontal lobe brain damage. She cannot make her body do that.’ And she's, like, not listening."
Kristen traveled with her best friend, Deanna Morey, and Mazi’s caretaker, Jenny Edsall. All of them told FOX 35 that since Mazi couldn’t go through the scanner, a TSA agent put Her in a body lock to prop her up and wouldn’t let her family touch her or comfort her.
"I’m, like, helpless because I let the baby go. I let her go to these people, you know? She feels she's supposed to feel safe. And so here we are not able to do anything," said Edsall through tears.
She wound up crying, defecating herself, and nearly fainting. Today, the family says Mazalee is still traumatized.
"I have never been searched in this manner. And you're going to do this to a disabled person? Are you kidding me right now?" said Keene.
Representative Kat Cammack sent Homeland Security a letter on the Keene family’s behalf.
The TSA wrote back, saying their investigation found that the security officer had followed procedures.
"That’s not going to cut it for me," Keene decided.
TSA Spokesperson Mike Howell says the agency did wind up putting the officer involved in this incident through extra customer service training.
"[I] basically just did another kind of refresher there on how to interact with members of the public," said Howell.
Howell says the Keene family should use something called TSA Cares in the future. He admits not many people know about that program and says the TSA is still trying to spread the word about it.
"If you give us the information ahead of time, we're going to tailor a screening experience for you when you're coming through, as opposed to trying to catch those things on the back end."
However, the Keenes feel like people shouldn’t need to go through a special program.
"[We want] more qualified individuals who understand and know how to handle it with dignity and treat them with dignity and respect," said Keene. "Empathy would be huge. Or hey, common sense. That would be good."
That all happened at the airport in Roanoke.
The Keenes flew out of the Orlando Sanford International Airport. They said TSA there was phenomenal.
A TSA crew at Orlando-Sanford International had just completed extra training following a FOX 35 investigation that concluded days before the Keene family’s flight.
Even though the TSA says they’ve investigated, concluded, and closed the case, Rep. Cammack’s office says that isn’t so on her end. Her team told FOX 35 that it’s still an open case with their office, and they’re still seeking a resolution.