Congress wants tighter look at passengers claiming to be policemen

Published 11 February 2008

Currently, all one has to do at an airport to prove he or she is a law enforcement officer — and, thus, entitled to bring a weapon on board — is show a photo ID and a letter from the law enforcement agency employing them; both documents can be easily forged

Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has asked the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for assurances that air passengers claiming to be police officers are positively identified before they are allowed to bring their guns aboard flights. In a 1 February letter to the TSA, Thompson asked for a progress report on the creation of a high-tech verification process for passengers seeking to fly armed, including a timeline for completion of the system. Thompson had called for stronger checks after several incidents at the Jackson airport were reported to him. Among them was Jackson mayor Frank Melton who apparently was allowed to bring his personal firearms with him on flights by presenting a gold police badge and a letter from the police chief identifying him as a law enforcement official.

Under federal rules, passengers must present to an airline representative a photo ID identifying themselves as a law enforcement officer and a letter from their agency before they are allowed to pass through security with their weapon. The regulations do not require anyone independently to verify the passenger actually is a police officer. TSA put a stop to Melton’s armed flights early in 2006, but the regulations are unchanged.