Who let the dogs out?!? (TSA is at RVR this morning)

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Anderson

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Well, a dog team from the TSA is at the Richmond station this morning from everybody's (least) favorite agency. My guess is that we'll all be getting sniffed while getting on 67. Yay.

Update: The TSA team basically stood there as a whopping five or ten of us boarded and about 40 folks got off. My best guess is that they're there for one or more of the later trains and just showed up early (and/or came back from a coffee break after the commuter barrage for the 0600-0800 trains).
 
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If it's TSA, call/write Amtrak and APD and complain. The only way to keep them confined to airports is to make sure Amtrak gets heavy passenger backlash every time this happens.
 
There was increased Amtrak Police at WIL yesterday morning. Did not see any K-9, though.
 
Don't feed the animals or pet the dogs, they're working!.

Austin Amtrak received their semi-regular visit from the TSA and the APD K-9 Unit this week! I feel so much safer!
 
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From time to time 2 TSA Agents will show up at Norman shortly before the southbound Heartland Flyer and usually stand near the end of the platform and observe from a distance. Your guess is as good as mine......
 
I think they should put the police dogs in charge--often, they've got more sense (and scents--I got that in before anyone else did :p ) than the people at the other end of the leash.
 
Oh, believe me...their vests clearly read "TSA K9". I wouldn't be kvetching if it were APD (whom I respect) and you'll note that while I'll laugh with various military friends about the ups and downs of the National Guard presence at Penn Station I never go into details about it online. The TSA, on the other hand...
 
Another add...doggy team at RVM as well. On the basis primarily of this but also of other stuff I've seen over the last week or so, I'm of the opinion that someone somewhere is spazzing out about something (probably the Islamic [EXPLETIVE DELETED]).
 
Well then, looks like Amtrak customer relations and Chief Hansen are getting more "love letters" from yours truly.
 
I have heard a vague rumor that they are spazzing out over a certain very important Al Qaida guy being killed inadvertently apparently last week. They were shooting at something else and apparently netted him instead.
 
I'm glad to hear everybody is drawing a clear distinction between the TSA and Amtrak police. In my years at Amtrak, I came to admire and respect Amtrak's own police, the canine units in particular. I never had any encounters with TSA during my Amtrak years, and I don't fly, so TSA is something I have no actual experience with. Nor do I wish to. I've heard too many stories about their amateurish attempts to trash Constitutional rights. From what I hear, I think I'm also pretty happy that the DEA and the Border people are not in my life. I shouldn't have any reason to fear any of these people, but the very fact that I do fear them is troubling in itself.

Tom
 
Tom, from my limited experience (mostly at 30th Street), I agree with you completely about the Amtrak police. They are courteous and seem to do their job efficiently but without any swagger or aggressiveness towards the passengers.

The only one with an attitude was an absolutely gorgeous German Shepherd K-9 officer who would sit in the middle of the station and just look at people going through like "This is my house--behave yourselves!" He was very impressive. I wonder if he has retired now--haven't seen him in a while, and there seem to be a new crop of youngsters there.
 
I always liked seeing the Amtrak dogs. They would sometimes conduct training exercises at Lorton because it has a big parking lot for them to use. They would bring in several dogs and put out about 20 or 30 suitcases. Then the dogs would be led past all the suitcases, to see if they could identify the one with the contraband. I was usually working while this was going on, but I saw some of it. Very neat, and always very professional. The Amtrak police never appeared to be threatening. But I also knew those same Police and their wonderful, talented dogs could be a very formidable foe to anybody with bad intentions. That was always reassuring.

Tom
 
I've never had any problems with K-9 officers,the dogs do a very good job!

Wish the same could be said for all the Alphabet Keystone Cop organizations that have sprung up and grown like topsy since we started the phoney, failed " War on Drugs" and since 911!!
 
jis said:
I have heard a vague rumor that they are spazzing out over a certain very important Al Qaida guy being killed inadvertently apparently last week. They were shooting at something else and apparently netted him instead.
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Ugh. Wonder if I need to reroute. Haven't checked in yet. ;)
 
I've seen TSA agents at the Winter Park Amtrak station (the one in Florida not Colorado) a few times. They pretty much stand around and have conversations with the passengers (usually it's the same guys they assign to that location). Not a whole lot happens at that station or in Downtown Winter Park in general. If they did the Orlando station, that I could understand.
 
THE CJ said:
I've seen TSA agents at the Winter Park Amtrak station (the one in Florida not Colorado) a few times. They pretty much stand around and have conversations with the passengers (usually it's the same guys they assign to that location). Not a whole lot happens at that station or in Downtown Winter Park in general. If they did the Orlando station, that I could understand.
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Do people actually stop and talk to them, or just ignore them and keep walking?
 
THE CJ said:
I've seen TSA agents at the Winter Park Amtrak station (the one in Florida not Colorado) a few times. They pretty much stand around and have conversations with the passengers (usually it's the same guys they assign to that location). Not a whole lot happens at that station or in Downtown Winter Park in general. If they did the Orlando station, that I could understand.
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I have seen them in the Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Park, Florida stations - usually with dogs, but not always.
 
Anderson said:
Another add...doggy team at RVM as well. On the basis primarily of this but also of other stuff I've seen over the last week or so, I'm of the opinion that someone somewhere is spazzing out about something (probably the Islamic [EXPLETIVE DELETED]).
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You know, it might be something else. There was a report that came out this week that since 9/11 more Americans have been killed by righting domestic terrorists than by the Islamic kind. And Richmond WAS the capital of the Confederacy.

It's not good to make assumptions about who'S suspicious. As the Amcop video that in on continual loop and drives me crazy at BAL says, "there are no suspicious people, there are only suspicious behaviors."
 
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