Woman 'humiliated' when told to remove bra at federal courthouse

Spokesman Review ^ | 3 Oct. 2007 | Taryn Hecker

[Bean Counter]

A Bonners Ferry woman says she was humiliated when security guards at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene told her she'd have to remove her underwire bra to get inside.

Lori Plato said she was going into the courthouse for a court hearing Sept. 20 when the metal detector went off as she passed through security.

"When I walked through, the gentleman said, "'Do you have an underwire bra on?'." Plato said. "I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'You have to remove it.' "

But there was nowhere private to remove her bra, she said. The guards suggested she go out to her car to do it.

Instead, Plato — who describes herself as "not petite" — said she removed her bra while her husband tried to shield her from view of others in the crowded lobby by holding up his coat.

She said she had to put the bra on a conveyor belt and send it through an x-ray machine.

"After I got through the metal detector and waited for my bra to come through the conveyor belt, one of the security guards said, "'That's a girl,'" Plato said. She thought the guard was making fun of her.

The U.S. Marshal's Service, which supervises security at the courthouse, said Plato was given options and chose not to exercise them. She was told she could have gone to her car or to a neighboring business to remove the bra, U.S. Marshal Patrick McDonald said.

"She's inflating it," McDonald said.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

ew. never thought about that before. ew. ew.

[wideminded]

ew. never thought about that before

I always figured that there are probably quite a few women in airport security who signed up for the wrong reason and regard this as one of the main perks of the job.

[ZULU]

Absolutely. Like many another law-enforcement crowd in a position of power over citizens, these jerks behaved like adolescent school kids.

THey should be fired.