WASHINGTON - March 3, 2011 - In late February, the Transportation Security Administration took over the Amtrak station in Savannah, Georgia, and thoroughly searched every person who entered. None of the passengers got into trouble, but the TSA certainly did - big time.
Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was a joke. When he discovered that the TSA’s VIPR team did at least some of the things the blog reported, he was livid. He ordered the VIPR teams off Amtrak property, at least until a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy.
“When I saw it, I didn’t believe it was real,” O’Connor said. He said when it became apparent that the posting on an anti-TSA blog was not a joke, “I hit the ceiling.”
O’Connor said the TSA VIPR teams have no right to do more than what Amtrak police do occasionally, which has produced few if any protests and which O’Connor said is clearly within the law and the Constitution.
More than a thousand times, Amtrak teams (sometimes including VIPR) have performed security screenings at Amtrak stations. These screenings are only occasional and random, and inspect the bags of only about one in 10 passengers. There is no wanding of passengers and no sterile area. O’Connor said the TSA violated every one of these rules.
A posting in late February to the Transportation Security Administration’s blog, which serves as a public relations tool orf the TSA, tried to explain why TSA agents took over the Amtrak station in Savannah. But O’Connor said the “facts” as posted on the TSA blog were incorrect. He said the blog indicated that Amtrak had approved of the operation but it had not. He called the TSA’s posting “inaccurate and insensitive.” As of the time this story was filed, thIS same posting remained on the TSA blog.
A TSA spokesman said he could not elaborate on the blog posting.
O’Connor said he must take some of the blame because he did not more carefully observe what the VIPR teams were doing. He said the TSA apologized repeatedly to him, but they must agree to firm restrictions before he will consider allowing them back on Amtrak property.
The group involved is TSA’s VIPR operation, which deals with surface transportation. VIPR is short for “visible intermodal protection and response.” It turns out that VIPR has been far more active than imagined. Teams have searched bus passengers all over the country, done similar things at train stations, and have even blocked traffic on bridges to search trucks and cars.
VIPR teams were rolled out on December 12, 2005, then promptly pulled back two days later when it turned out that no one had informed numerous local governments. It was a fiasco. Several local jurisdictions said they had no interest and opted out, including the Washington Metro system. But moving incrementally, VIPR teams have apparently re-infiltrated surface transportation facilities. Unlike the TSA at airports, these teams have access to firepower.
One major unanswered question is why? What purpose do these Gestapo-style tactics serve?
