British singer Morrissey is accusing a Transportation Security Administration officer of sexual assault after an incident at the San Francisco International Airport this week.
Morrissey said in a blog post that he was groped inappropriately by a TSA worker as he was getting ready to board a British Airways flight from San Francisco to London.
“At 2:30 in the afternoon I went through the usual airport security procedure including the stand-up ‘scanner’, and all was well — no bleeps and nothing unusual. Before I could gather my belongings from the usual array of trays I was approached by an ‘airport security officer’ who stopped me, crouched before me and groped my penis and testicles,” he wrote on Wednesday.
{mosads}”He quickly moved away as an older ‘airport security officer’ approached,” Morrissey continued. “The officer who sexually assaulted me was identified as the General Manager On Duty. Luckily I was accompanied by two members of British Airways Special Services, who were horrified at the sexual attack and suggested that I lodge a complaint.”
TSA officials said Friday that they are looking into Morrissey’s complaint.
“TSA takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and strives to treat every passenger with dignity and respect,” TSA spokesman Mike England said in a statement provided to The Hill.
“Upon review of closed circuit TV footage, TSA determined that the supervised officer followed standard operating procedures in the screening of this individual,” England continued.
The TSA has frequently been criticized for its pat-down hand searches and other airport security techniques such as X-ray scanners.
Morrissey said in his blog post that he was told “that’s just your opinion” when he complained about the incident to TSA workers at the San Francisco airport.
The singer said he does not expect the TSA to take his complaint seriously.
“In the interests of imperishable bureaucracy my submitted complaint against this ‘officer’ will obviously be either unread or ignored because, as we all know, on matters of officialism it is not possible to be pleasantly surprised by anything at all,” he wrote.
“However, what is clear is that, should you find yourself traveling through San Francisco International Airport, you should expect sexual abuse from the so-called ‘security officers’ who, we are unconvincingly warned, are acting only for our security,” Morrissey concluded.