Video of US man refusing full-body scan at airport goes viral

NEW YORK - Footage of a US man refusing to undergo a full-body scan at an international airport has attracted more than 210,000 YouTube viewings.

John Tyner, a software programmer, was evicted on San Diego International Airport when he told staff he did not want to go through with the check.

Tyner can be heard on the video telling the TSA agent that “I don’t understand how sexual assault can be made a condition of me flying.”

Writing on his website hours after the incident, he described how he was pulled from a queue of people to be scanned.

He refused, and was then told he would be subjected to a pat-down security check instead.

“You touch my junk and I’m going to have you arrested,” the New York Post quoted him as replying to the security official.

After security officials escorted him from the airports’ secure area, he said he was then threatened with a 10,000 dollars fine if he refused to return to complete the body check.

Tyner’s story has garnered much support online from the increasing numbers of airline passengers and civil liberties groups who are concerned about the new high-tech body scanners, which they argue are a violation of people’s privacy and potentially harmful to their health.

As per reports in USA Today, the US Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, defended the security measures.

“Each and every one of the security measures we implement serves an important goal,” Napolitano wrote.

She added that the scanning machines were “safe, efficient and protect passenger privacy,” and that “pat-downs have long been one of the many security measures used by the US and other countries.”

But, Napolitano also said that if the procedures need adjustments, “we have an open ear, we will listen.” (ANI)