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MIT Student Arrested For Wearing 'Tech Art' Shirt At Airport

Posted by Zonk on from the don't-be-a-jerk-to-the-police,-they-have-guns dept.

SuperBanana writes "According to a report by the Boston Globe, MIT Student Star Simpson was nearly shot by Logan Airport police who thought she was armed with a bomb. She approached an airline employee wearing a prototyping board with electronic components, crudely attached to the front of her sweatshirt and holding 'putty' in her hand. She asked about an incoming flight, and did not respond when asked about the device. Armed police responded. 'Simpson was charged with possessing a hoax device and was arraigned today East Boston Municipal Court. She was held on $750 cash bail and ordered to return to court Oct. 29. "Thankfully because she followed our instructions, she ended up in our cell instead of a morgue," Pare said. "Again, this is a serious offense ... I'm shocked and appalled that somebody would wear this type of device to an airport."'"

3 of 1,547 comments (clear)

  1. It's a fucking BREAD BOARD! by ps3udonym · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Okay.. Maybe I was alone in my jr. Highschool electronics course and just fantasized about all the other students around me, but that sure as hell looks, very VERY obviously, like a bread board and nothing else. What exactly were they worried she was going to blow up, a resistor????? This not only goes to show the amazing lack of freedom that Americans have ATM, but also the general lack of education in the American people, especially among security and police professionals. A grade 12 education could have defused this in seconds, but instead we have a super bright person being oppressed by the stupid.

    God help you all!

  2. Re:"Yeah, those suspicious e-lectronics". by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 1, Redundant

    That shirt is fucking awesome.

    But I can't shake the feeling it would make people nervous in some contexts :-(

    --
    Apology to Ubuntu forum.
  3. Re:The editors substantially modified my story... by Jherek+Carnelian · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Now, if it turns out that she is mentally retarded and not some college student with a chip on her shoulder then I could see a little leniency being in order. And what if she just turns out to be a regular person going about her regular business in her regular way? Some people are just unable to conceive of what its like to be someone else - easily ascribing motive to actions that viewed in the correct context are completely pedestrian.

    The police apparently showed tremendous restraint, running into a situation that could have very well ended their lives while using tremendous care in the use of lethal force. Among all the other silly points in your post, this one stands out above all the others for lack of critical thinking. Any reasonably smart suicide bomber will use a deadman's switch, in which case such 'restraint' is meaningless, shoot them dead the bomb goes off, confront them, the bomb goes off.

    In which case the obvious policy is to not to shoot, since shooting does not improve the odds of their survival but certainly improves the odds of the survival in case they make a mistake. Which, it is important to note - there have been no suicide bombers in the US yet, so clearly mistakes are the rule.