Do you remember how we were told that we shouldn’t worry about the full-body screening equipment because it didn’t show that much detail? We were also told that the people manning the equipment were professionals and the pictures would be discarded. Perhaps not so much…
Rolando Negrin, a TSA employee at Miami International Airport, was arrested for aggravated battery after he attacked a colleague, in response to coworkers poking fun at the size of his penis during a body-scanning machine training session. According to a local NBC report, sources say Negrin became embarrassed and angry by a supervisor’s jokes as he walked through the machine.
A police report obtained by NBC states that Negrin later attacked a colleague with a police baton in a parking lot, and told the victim to kneel down and say “sorry.” After being arrested, Negrin told police that coworkers often made fun of him.
OK, I’ll admit the story is a little bit funny and my first instinct was to laugh about it. Seriously, though, this story is not funny. I’m not going to offer any excuses for Mr. Negrin’s behavior, he was wrong for beating someone. However, it sounds like Mr. Negrin was the victim of months of sexual harassment by co-workers, including his supervisor. I would love to know what actions were taken, if any, by the TSA to stop the harassment and if any punishment will be given to the supervisor who was allowing it to occur.