Family of Disabled 19-Year-Old Girl Suing TSA for Mistreatment
Hannah Cohen, 19, and her family are suing the TSA after a head injury suffered as the result of a TSA officer tackling her onto the floor. Hannah is a St. Jude’s cancer patient, who is partially deaf and blind in one eye. She is a patient at St. Jude’s, in treatment for a brain tumor discovered 17 years ago.
The horrible incident occurred as she was on a trip home to Chattanooga with her mom Sarah Cohen, after a series of treatments for the tumor at St. Jude’s Hospital.
The family has made the trip for 17 years since the tumor was discovered, and have never experienced any troubles at the airport. This time however, as Hannah and her mom were progressing through a TSA checkpoint at Memphis International Airport, she set off the metal detector.
Hannah, young and in a disabled state, was understandably confused by the TSA agents who suddenly approached her. She tried to avoid them, and moved away confused by the sudden approach of the officers.
Prior to approaching Hannah, the TSA agents told her mother they wanted to do additional screening after the alarms went off.
What was originally intended to be “additional screening” turned into a physical and bloody scuffle.
As Hannah tried to escape what she perceived to be a threat, one of the agents tackled her to the ground, ramming her head into the floor in the process.
“She’s trying to get away from them but in the next instant, one of them had her down on the ground and hit her head on the floor. There was blood everywhere,” recalled her mother.
During the incident, her mother tried to tell the officers multiple times that Hannah had various medical issues and that she was just confused, but was forced back as the agents took her daughter away in handcuffs.
After the misunderstanding-turned-spectacle subsided, Hannah was arrested and booked in the airport’s jail, apart from her mother.
The Cohen family unexpectedly spent the night in the airport, with Hannah isolated, and no access to their luggage.
“Here we were with nowhere to go, not even a toothbrush, our bags had gone to Chattanooga,” Hannah’s mom recounted.
The charges were later thrown out by authorities and Hannah was finally released.
“She’s 19 but she’ll always be my baby. We’ve been through so much.”
The TSA would not comment directly to the incident, but released a statement in the aftermath saying, “Passengers can call ahead of time to learn more about the screening process for their particular needs or medical situation.”
Upset with how things were handled, the Cohen family is planning to bring a lawsuit against the Memphis Airport, Airport Police and the TSA for negligent conduct and injuries suffered by Hannah. (For more from the author of “Family of Disabled 19-Year-Old Girl Suing TSA for Mistreatment” please click HERE)
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