TSA to train officers on recognizing DC licenses

WASHINGTON — Transportation Security Administration workers will be getting training on how to recognize District of Columbia driver's licenses and identification cards.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district's delegate to Congress, says the training will help the TSA resolve the recurring problem of officers not recognizing the validity of District licenses at airports.

"We need better, more pointed action and that is what we got," said Norton.

In July, Channel 9 reporter Justin Gray, who lives in Washington, D.C., was flying out of Orlando International Airport when a TSA agent said Gray's District of Columbia driver's license wasn't a valid form of identification.

Gray said his license is legal and up-to-date, but the TSA agent didn't seem to know what the District of Columbia was when Gray arrived at the security checkpoint over the weekend.

"Beginning in September, the TSA will be having a hands-on-deck briefing. A 4-hour briefing for all of its staff," said Norton.

Gray's story on the incident prompted emails and tweets from hundreds of people reporting similar experiences.

Norton, a Democrat, met with a TSA official last week.

"I think this may do it but it is very interesting that it's taken very special emphasis and action to make sure TSA agents understood that the nation's capital is a part of the union," said Norton.

WFTV