Union calls TSA officer who was absent from post during security breach a model employee

TSA guard in security breach called model employee

NEWARK, N.J. — A guard whose failure to see a man bypass security at the Newark airport led to major delays and harsh criticism of the Transportation Security Administration was described Friday by the union representing him as a “model employee.”

A person with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press on Friday that the Transportation Security Administration worker is Ruben Hernandez of Newark. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is in progress.

TSA employees are not unionized, but the American Federation of Government Employees is representing him, said union spokesman Derrick Thomas. The union declined to publicly identify him. The TSA has said the guard has been on administrative leave since Tuesday.

The officer, who has been with the agency for 2½ years, previously received a commendation for job performance, Thomas said.

“He’s been rated a model employee,” he said. “We intend to fully represent him to make sure this whole investigation is handled correctly and that he’s not made a scapegoat for all that’s been going wrong with security at the airports.”

The union is reviewing reports that the officer was called from his post to investigate a disturbance in the seconds before the security breach, Thomas said.

The breach led the TSA to shut down one of Newark Liberty International’s three terminals for six hours, stranding thousands of passengers and contributing to major delays.

On a surveillance video released Thursday by the TSA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the guard is seen sitting at a security podium in an exit lane as passengers stream past on their way out of the terminal.

A man wearing a light-colored jacket stands inside a rope barrier, and the guard approaches the man, apparently telling him to move behind the rope.

Within a minute, the guard leaves the podium again and disappears into the crowd. A woman in a long white coat approaches the podium from inside the terminal; the man sees her and ducks under the security rope, and the two walk past, arm in arm.

The man was seen on a separate surveillance camera leaving the terminal about 20 minutes later, according to the TSA. He has not been found, and his identity remains a mystery.

A bystander waiting for an arriving passenger noticed the breach and told the guard. TSA officials then discovered that surveillance cameras at the security checkpoint had not recorded the breach and were forced to consult backup security cameras operated by Continental Airlines.