LOS ANGELES -- A Dallas woman said she wants an apology from airport security screeners because they made her remove her nipple rings before boarding a flight.
Mandi Hamlin, 37, used a mannequin to demonstrate at a news conference how she had to use pliers to remove one of her rings because of the scar tissue that had grown around it.
She had been stopped at a security checkpoint at the Lubbock, Texas, airport before a flight to Dallas.
Hamlin said Transportation Security Administration agents took her behind a curtain to remove the rings, even though TSA policy says a "pat-down search" is enough.
Hamlin said she heard male agents snickering while she painfully removed the ring.
"The conduct of TSA was cruel and unnecessary," said her attorney, Gloria Allred. "The last time that I checked, a nipple was not a dangerous weapon."
Hamlin said she wants a civil rights investigation in addition to the apology.
"I felt surprised, embarrassed, humiliated, and scared," Hamlin said at the news conference, which was held in Los Angeles. "My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. The situation was totally out of control. I will not sit quietly. No one deserves to go through this."
Lubbock's TSA customer service manager said the screening was handled appropriately.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Raw Video:
