Thursday, February 14, 2013

Will the peanut butter go "boom?" Nope. So an Arizona man wants 5 million bucks for being held by airport police.

     Should an Arizona man have been detained by law enforcement officers at LaGuardia Airport in New York City - FOR 25 HOURS - for jokingly calling his jar of peanut butter - "explosives?"  Frank Hannibal doesn't think so - and therefore - he is suing an agent of the Transportation Security Administration and a Port Authority cop for 5 million dollars.

     Officials hauled off the 50-year old, law abiding American citizen in handcuffs after he sacastically told his wife and twin 6-year old daughters, "They're looking to confiscate my explosives."

     While attempting to pass through a TSA checkpoint, Hannibal was stopped because he carried a 16-ounce jar of gourmet peanut butter.  A TSA agent questioned Hannibal about the jar of "Crazy Richard's Natural Peanut Butter" and reportedly inquired about the natural separation of oil inside the jar.  As for the size of the jar...the TSA prohibits passengers from carrying liquids in containers that are larger than 3 ounces, which the U.S. government states is to prevent the possibility of "explosives" being taken on board an airplane.

     Instead of asking the agent to throw away the peanut butter, the former New Yorker made the "explosives" wisecrack, which he privately kidded about with his wife and kids.  Unfortunately, the TSA agent overheard what Hannibal said and Hannibal has since told The Daily News, "It sounds laughable now - but at the time - to be led out of there like a terrorist - was unbelievable.  My whole life was up in the air.  It was a nightmare.  My children were overwhelmed.  It was crazy."

     On February 8th, 2013, Hannibal filed a five million-dollar lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court against the TSA agent - who didn't find Hannibal's "explosives" comment to be funny - and the Port Authority officer who arrested him for "falsely reporting an incident," which is a felony.

     Hannibal's attorney, Alan B. Levine of Queens told The Daily News, "It's a sorry state of affairs in this country when sarcasm is considered a felony."  Crazy Richard's Natural Peanut Butter is sold in supermarkets throughout the United States and the liquid oil in Hannibal's jar of peanut butter had separated due to the science of preservation.

     This is TOTALLY AND ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!  It is very easy to detect whether a jar of peanut butter has any elements of "explosives" inside.  Hannibal didn't make a scene about his jar of peanut butter being taken away, but quietly jested with his family - with obvious sarcasm - that the peanut butter was "explosives."

     Should Hannibal have been detained for a short period of time while the peanut butter was scanned to determine that it was nothing more than an innocent food product?  Yes.  Should Hannibal himself been checked out?  Yes again.  But none of that takes 25 hours.

     I have had to carry items of a medical nature through airport security and - most often - I'm not ever questioned about the products - although I am prepared to present letters from two doctors.  However, when a TSA agent has asked - it has taken less than 60 seconds to thoroughly analyze an item to determine it is safe and, therefore, able to be taken on board the airplane. True, I've never made a stupid comment about "explosives" - but again - it doesn't take 25 hours to investigate a person's history and realize that Hannibal was just joking.

     Come on, everybody...let's have a little common sense.

     Clearly...in a post 9/11 world...Americans and visitors from other countries need to recognize, understand and accept that law enforcement officers are rightfully skittish when someone uses the words "explosives"... or "bombs"... or "guns"... at an airport.  But to lock up a man for 25 hours because of a sarcastic remark about a jar of peanut butter - that can take less than a minute to identify its contents - is somewhat far-fetched and going overboard.  That said, the Transportation Security Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have, to date, not commented on the case.

     Hannibal has stated that the jar of peanut butter - that caused him to be busted - was returned to him after he was released from jail - and he reportedly..."ate it."

     Ironically - while in the slammer - Hannibal was given to eat...yeah, you guessed it....a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

     Hey...at 7 bucks a pop - five million dollars will buy Hannibal a whole lot of Crazy Richard's Natural Peanut Butter.  And I hope he gets the money... and spends it whatever way he wants.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.


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3 comments:

  1. Well there goes our tax dollars! We will be paying him. As per TSA training, they have the right to escort you directly to an invasive pat down or jail if you sound as though you are a threat to others or appear to have done anything that might cause anything to explode. Why carry a large jar of peanut butter? He could have put a large enough explosive in the middle of the jar to blow out a window or something. Stupid man! If you lost someone in 9-11 you would realize how bad the situation is. You are lucky to get only 25 hours. They need to sue you for wasting government people's time

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  2. If this guy wins 5 million dollars for his trouble...I am going to crack a joke the next time I am at the airport - 5 million is certainly worth 25 hours of my time! It is ridiculous on the part of the airport to have taken that long but it's even more ridiculous to sue for it. If a loved one of mine was on that flight, I would want full security measures taken. I understand the guy was with his wife and kids and 25 hours was an absurd amount of time, etc. but was it really necessary to turn around and sue - get a few free flights and a public apology and go on your way!

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  3. He brought it on himself - he was a complete fool to make a terroristic threat.I want to know what fool of a lawyer would want to touch this case. He was lucky to only be inconvenienced instead of spending a couple of nights in jail.

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