ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- A family’s run-in with Transportation Security Administration screeners as they were heading to Orlando on vacation was caught on camera, and is raising questions about airport security rules.
Annie Schulte said it all started when TSA agents asked to pat down her 3-year-old daughter, Lucy, who is disabled and in a wheelchair. The agents also wanted to screen Lucy’s wheelchair.
Schulte recorded the incident on her cellphone. In the video, Lucy begins to cry and says, "I don't want to go to Disney World."
What made the toddler so distraught, her parents said, was the run-in with the agents.
Agent: “It's illegal to do that.”
Schulte: “You can't touch my daughter, unless I can record it.”
Schulte said she asked to record the incident.
“To me, it was pretty offensive because I was really tuned in. When she said that, immediately I'm like, ‘OK, hold on, something doesn't seem right.’ So, I did tell her I was going to wait because I was going to grab my phone,” said Schulte.
Lucy’s father said, “It bothers me that my daughter was singled out specifically because she is in a wheelchair.”
But the family said the final straw was when agents refused to return Lucy's stuffed animal named Lamby, even though it had already been scanned.
The TSA apologized, telling ABC News it "regrets inaccurate guidance was provided to this family during screening."
The family said it accepted the apology, but wants screeners to receive more training to prevent incidents such as theirs from ruining another vacation.
In the end, Lucy was able to get to Disney World, where she met Mickey Mouse.
