“I am not going to plead guilty to something I didn’t do. I’m a person of character,” said Hays, whose mother died last month. “I end up reliving this disaster every spare moment of my life. You just flash back and you see these scenes over and over.”
The case has been ridiculed by talk-radio hosts, who railed against the agents involved and challenged how confiscating a disabled woman’s applesauce would improve national security. Denny Wei, a prosecutor in the Burbank city attorney’s office, declined to comment on the case, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
TSA spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino also declined comment, citing a policy of not discussing pending litigation.
Bob Hope Airport police responded about 12:55 p.m. to the security checkpoint in Terminal B, where TSA supervisor Tanya Atkens told officers that Hays made a fist and struck her on the hand as they tugged at an ice chest containing the snacks, according to the arrest report.
Airport screener Testad Tetteh refused to allow Hays to take the cooler. But Hays maintained that her mother’s medical condition required access to the provisions during the flight.
Her lawyer, Mary Frances Prevost, said the agency permits liquids to people with medical conditions and disabilities, as long as they declare everything of more than 3 ounces to agents.
“She had every right to bring what she had with her on board, and TSA regulations that are all over the Internet show that to be true,” Prevost said.
“Instead, two ignorant agents, rather than taking a look at the regulations, grabbed the cooler.”
Agents told Hays she had to surrender the contents or transfer them to her check-in luggage. Tetteh then started removing the items from the cooler, according to court records.
