A boy and his family said they were held by Transportation Security Administration agents in Phoenix for more than an hour in what they called a traumatic and discriminatory ordeal because of the boy's pacemaker.
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Chille Bergstrom and his mother, Ali Bergstrom, were going through security Saturday morning at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. A rare heart condition required him to undergo 15 open-heart surgeries, and he needs a pacemaker to keep him alive.
"Usually, they are friendly, they smile (and) they give him a sticker — a TSA sticker," Ali Bergstrom told KMSP.
But because of his pacemaker, Chille cannot go through the scanning equipment at security checkpoints. He usually presents his medical paperwork and gets an alternative screening, such as a pat-down.
The TSA's website says individuals with pacemakers and other internal medical devices who present such paperwork have the option of alternative screenings.
But this time when they asked for an alternative screening, she said TSA agents told her that they needed a special exemption.
Ali Bergstrom said armed police officers and TSA agents subjected them to a lengthy and demeaning search.
"(I was) shocked beyond belief," she said. "In walks the head of the Department of Homeland Security for the entire airport, followed by other supervisors, and managers with 10 other people from TSA."
In a Facebook post about the incident, Ali said one of the agents told them that "some terrorist plots use children with pacemakers."
The Bergstroms were able to fly back home to Minnesota 14 hours later because of the delay and bad weather conditions.
Chille said he hopes sharing their bad experience with the TSA will prevent it from happening to someone else in the future. A TSA spokesperson said the agency is reviewing Saturday's incident.
Read more at KMSP.