Law Enforcement Agent Is Gleeful After Beating Airport Security Personnel in a Power Play

“I know we’re all going to die. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey.”

“Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.”

“Everyone’s running to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.”

Those were the last words of Thomas Burnett, Jr., Todd Beamer, and Sandy Bradshaw — three of the heroes who fought back against the al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked United Flight 93. Even though every one of the passengers and cabin crew members perished, it was a successful effort because the terrorists failed to hit their target in Washington as the plane crashed on a rural field in western Pennsylvania.

Not to be easily forgotten as well are the innocent victims and heroes of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The passengers and crew members of United Flight 93 that experienced a delay in takeoff had already heard of what had happened in New York City, and so, when the terrorists announced the hijacking of their plane, they came together to make a heroic stand.

From then on, of course, airport security has been tightened even more. It had been easy for the 19 al Qaeda terrorists to smuggle knives and box-cutters into the Logan International Airport in Boston, Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., and Newark International Airport in New Jersey at that time. But now, every effort is being made to prevent similar tragedies.

That’s why it’s hard to determine if one should find a story about breaching airport security hilarious. To the storyteller, it was an experience of triumph. But, revealing the weaknesses of an airport’s internal security could be worrisome. What if some unscrupulous character adopts it as a method to invade a security system? Many criminals have blinded authorities by pretending to be good persons, but what they’re waiting for are opportunities to sow death and terror.

This is a post of an airport law enforcement agent with the username u/doughboyniels on Reddit’s r/ MaliciousCompliance forum: “I work at an airport as a law-enforcement agent. One morning, roughly 4 a.m., me and my colleague were on our way to an arriving flight. We got to security and were ready to pass. Mind you; we MUST pass through the metal detector, but we are not to be inspected. We can carry anything we need to do our job; and we carry weapons etc. So we will always set off the alarm. We have a special pass that’ll allow us clearance. We don’t need that pass to carry it, just to go through security.”

OP continued to relate that as they approached security, he realized that he had left his pass in his jacket inside the locker. The flight they had as an assignment was due to arrive at any moment. And so, he opted to go through inspection.

OP wrote, “That did not sit well with the guard, and he was like, ‘You can’t go through the detector like this. And you can’t use the security procedure. No pass, then no passage.’ Finally, he got me and had the power! Basically forcing me to go back and be late. Then it dawned on me. In front of the guard, and 1 foot away from the detector, I took off all my gear, emptied my pockets, etc. Gave everything to my colleague who did bring her pass. I went through the detector clean as can be, no alarms. 1 foot after the detector, my colleague handed me my stuff. I put everything back on and with the biggest smile, I wished him a wonderful day. The expression on his face was priceless. We burst out laughing around the corner.”

To OP, it was very funny. But to some Redditors, what it reminded them of were airport security concerns and hassles.

These were some of the comments:

A reaction from ghostieghost28 reads, “We went to the State Fair & had to walk through metal detectors. They made us empty our pockets and everything, but we had a stroller for our kids, and they didn’t check it at all. Of course, it set off the metal detector since they’re made of metal. Could have easily hidden something in it.”

Keyeater wrote this remark: “Which is how you end up with shots fired inside the MN state fair this year.”

Meanwhile, MusicalMerlin1973 shared this experience with another valuable lesson in it: “Back shortly after 9/11, my boss and I would always have problems with the work laptop going through security. It would always be pulled aside for the bomb sniff. I finally asked why. They said the unused memory expansion slot could house explosives. As soon as I got back to the office, I put in a request for memory, and the reason I put down was so we don’t get pulled aside for extra attention anymore. Got the extra memory.”

To which davidsinnergeek replied, “The IT technician in me appreciates this.”

As for OP, to assure everybody that he’s a legitimate agent, he further wrote in an edit, “I have other law-enforcement credentials which grant me the legal right to carry whatever I need to do my job. With it, I can demand access anywhere and take anything with me. ONLY at airport security do I need a special pass, a corporate pass, if you like, to take my stuff. It’ll just cover the area passing through the metal detector. I have an access card for the secured area at the airport. It just doesn’t cover the materials I take. So back then (2010-ish), I needed 3 cards: law-enforcement creds, a secure area pass, and a carry-anything-I-need pass. They assimilated the last 2 into one these days.”

Law enforcement agents should also know that not everything is worth publishing. You don’t know whose evil eyes are reading and analyzing them.