Can TSA screeners prevent me from leaving the airport if I decline the scan or frisking?
The TSA likes to refer to its screeners as “officers.” They’re not. As the PapersPlease.org advocacy site points out: “Despite wearing police-type uniforms and calling themselves ‘officers,’ they have no police powers and no immunity from any state or local laws. At some airports, notably San Francisco (SFO) and Kansas City (MCI), they aren’t government employees at all, but rent-a-cops employed by a private contractor. They cannot legally arrest or detain you (except as a citizen’s arrest, the same way you can arrest them if they commit assault or battery). All they can do is call the local police.” In fact, a San Francisco Bay Area district attorney has threatened TSA screeners at San Francisco International Airport with prosecution on felony battery charges if they touch a passenger inappropriately.
