Hapless Jetskier Criminally Charged for $100 mm Airport Security System’s Total Failure
By Mary Theroux • Tuesday August 14, 2012 4:07 PM PDT • 16 Comments
Your Homeland Security tax dollars at work:
A man whose jet ski broke down in New York’s Jamaica Bay on Friday evening swam to shore, climbed over an 8′ fence, walked across two runways wearing a bright yellow jacket—passing straight through the airport’s $100 million security system “which exceeds federal requirements,” and consists of motion sensors, closed-circuit video surveillance and other security measures—and into a terminal at JFK airport.
The only head apparently under threat of rolling is that of the jetskier himself, who has been charged with criminal trespass.
I guess he was supposed to jump up and down and wave his arms.
Or take off his shoes.
Tags: Civil Liberties, Intelligence agency, Liberty, Personal Liberty, Surveillance 
Or bend over.
Tom E. Snyder | Aug 14, 2012 | Reply
Waste of money and resourses
richard | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
I’m sure glad the TSSA continues to protect us from the handicapped elderly, rape victims, and small children, however... SNORT...
BADKarma | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
It is criminal to charge someone who was in need.. What else was he suppose to do. Government has to go.
Sean | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
So who got the kick-back on the 100 million dollar security system?
Goes to show you how the government wastes our tax dollars.....
Walter | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
S***, I’d give him money for finding the holes in the fence.
brian payne | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
If he walked across active runways at an airport, then he placed the lives of himself and others at risk, and violated a variety of federal laws. He should be charged with every law and statute he violated. End of story. Aside from the fact that it is monumentally stupid to do so.
Whether or not the JFK security system worked as it was supposed to is another matter, and should be addressed separately.
FYI. The security fence and the securing of the airport property is not the responsibility of TSA, but falls squarely on the local authorities who are responsible for the operation of and the security of the Airport Facility. In fact, before blaming the Federal Government for this, you should actually verify that NY Port Authority used federal dollars to subsidize the project.
Frank | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
Thanks, Frank.
I didn’t say it was a TSA system, though you are correct I certainly lump the quality of the security together with that the TSA provides.
It is indeed the Port Authority’s system, but I am guessing that the money came from a Homeland Security grant—which have been used for countless such expensive projects in the years since 9/11, most recently under the guise of “stimulus.”
The opener could equally read “Your tax dollars at work,” but the basic point is the same: incompetence is the norm with other people’s money.
Here’s an update, with internal outrage over the cozy relationship between defense contractor vendor and Port Authority buyer.
As far as charging the guy, how was he supposed to get to help if none was coming to him? I’m sure he was very careful about crossing the runways, since it would have been his neck. Those things aren’t exactly freeways, and I’m sure one can time one’s walk across them well away from traffic.
With best wishes,
Mary
Mary Theroux | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
The charges should be tossed, via “Mens rea”, as far as anyone understands is that this trespass, was a result of a non-criminal act and a man trying to prevent himself from drowning.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Suspicionless-Checkpoints-Random-Bag-Searches/138782276179185
Damion | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
I suppose he’s just supposed to hang on to his jetski for a few days until someone sees him from a plane.
^ Idiot | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
Sleep well tonight the DHS is on watch. So something else.
Dau Tieng 59 | Aug 15, 2012 | Reply
Well so much for security. Oh, they didn’t get the chance to grope him or see him naked. goes to show you can’t trust the Federal Government.
Ric G | Aug 16, 2012 | Reply
The U.S. government is the Detroit Lions of all the nations throughout the world and throughout history. ..just like in the past with the lions, I am beginning to cheer when the U.S. gov’t fails.
Bill | Aug 20, 2012 | Reply
Perhaps he should have just voluntarily drowned to save the TSA all that bother.
Jer.
Jerry Cohen | Aug 20, 2012 | Reply
So the mighty TSA got embarassed and to save face arrested the guy, who was probably just trying to find a phone or a cab.
As far as the scanning goes, after 1000 naked bodies, they all start to look the same; one gets bored.
TommyD | Aug 20, 2012 | Reply
I think it’s another version of Murphy’s Law (Original: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.)
This time it’s ‘Any time a publicly funded body is demonstrated to be be completely incompetent, it compounds the embarrassment by attacking an innocent bystander.’
It happens here in the UK as well.
John Harrison | Aug 21, 2012 | Reply