This is really no surprise.

I understand that we all have constitutional rights, but this guy still seems like he could have just answered the questions pretty quickly and been out of there. He's right, he's not required to, but I think communication is pretty important. I think law enforcement officials are trained to look more closely at ANYTHING out of the ordinary, and I'm sorry, but carrying a box with an ass-ton of cash in it is a little out of the ordinary. And, as far as that Steve Bierfield's tactics go, with his answering a question with a question, I'd have kept him in that locked room just because he was irritating me.

The government is afraid they won't get part of the money.
Government bureaucrat thinking. I don't carry cash. That's suspicious. Why doesn't he put his money in one of our trusty U.S. banks? Like Citibank etc..
What if he doesn't pay taxes on this?
The government is very worried when they don't have their hands in something.

Thank you, Cheeseburger. You have totally clarified the proper behavior for a serf. And you seemingly have no idea why us citizens are getting pissed off.

You went to school in post long-march-through-the institutions schools, didn't you? You have had no exposure to the ideas that make America, well, not Amerika.

Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence?
--
phunctor

but this guy still seems like he could have just answered the questions pretty quickly and been out of there.

Not the point

He's right, he's not required to,

And yet they harrased him anyway

and I'm sorry, but carrying a box with an ass-ton of cash in it is a little out of the ordinary.

Really, what if the state his light originated from didnt have a branch of his local bank, or the campagains local bank within a reasonable distance to the airport and he didnt want to spend a percentage of the money converting it into cashiers checks at a different bank? Is is not wanting to spend money needlessly really that odd?

And, as far as that Steve Bierfield's tactics go, with his answering a question with a question, I'd have kept him in that locked room just because he was irritating me.

At least your honest as to what your motivation would be, in that aspect alone you'd make a hore honest piece of shit TSA offical

"...he could have just answered the questions pretty quickly and been out of there."

That's right. And he deserves huge kudos for not doing so.

It's easy to say "I have nothing to hide, why not tell them", and that's what most of us would have done. This allows yet another power grab to become normal and accepted.

It is none of their business why he is carrying cash. It doesn't endanger flight safety, it isn't illegal to have - it is simply not their concern. They have no right to even ask.

If you listen to the recording, it is bleedingly obvious that they know this. He repeatedly asks "am I legally required to answer that question". They never answer. It is clear that they realize that there is no such legal requirement.

Huge, gigantic kudos to him for standing up for his rights.

Another aspect: in today's police climate, it is downright stupid to answer any question by any law enforcement office.

Remember what happened to Martha Stewart. The original reason for prosecution was dropped. However, in the course of the investigation, she had been interviewed by an FBI officer. She was not under oath at the time. She was charged, convicted and sent to jail for lying, based purely what he wrote down in his personal notes at the time. Had she refused to answer his questions, she would not have gone to jail.

The lesson: Never answer any question more weighty than "How are you", when asked by any TSA or law enforcement officer. Whatever you may say can be used against you.

Welcome to 1984 plus 25.

It's obviously lies, Our Lord Savior Obama wouldn't let something like that happen.

Fucking. bastards.

He's right, he's not required to, but I think communication is pretty important. I think law enforcement officials are trained to look more closely at ANYTHING out of the ordinary, and I'm sorry, but carrying a box with an ass-ton of cash in it is a little out of the ordinary.

I'm a little out of the ordinary. Red hair, I dress up to fly instead of wearing sweatpants, etc. Should I be searched every time I go to the airport?

Furthermore, I happen to pay for everything on a credit card but some people use cash because they prefer not to have their purchases recorded. If the guy is carrying $4,700 in cash, unless that money is rife with bomb traces, why is that anybody's business but his?

Realistically, this is more likely an outgrowth of the "War On Drugs" than anything else. People carrying "too much money" have been harassed in other venues on suspicion of drug trafficking. I've even heard some stories of the money being confiscated, and long-drawn-out legal filings required to get it back.

Cheeseburger needs to remember that this is the land of the free although our police sometimes forget that. While carrying that amount in cash may not be the usual thing, its certainly not illegal. And we are always within our rights to ask those in authority to clarify what we are being questioned about and why. I even tell my children that they always have the right to ask questions in a polite way. There is nothing disrespectful to the TSA or this country in asking the question, "Do I have to answer your questions." Its really a simple yes or no and The TSA didn't have to drag it out by refusing to answer and threatening this man.

$4,700 isn't exactly an "ass-ton" of money anyway.

" ... but this guy still seems like he could have just answered the questions pretty quickly and been out of there."

You know, for that matter, he could have just GIVEN them the money and been out of there pretty quickly too.

Well, I suppose he could hit somebody over the head with the box. After all, if you can (in the TSA's opinion) hijack a plane with a pair of nail clippers...

There are a multitude of reasons someone might carry a large amount of cash, none of which are the TSA's business. Just because a flunky wannabe-cop has never seen a pile of cash that big, doesn't mean it's all that unusual.

It's great that this guy recorded this interrogation, and I love that the ACLU is on it.

Oh, and *REAL* cops have their interactions with people video-and-audiotaped; TSA certainly should.

In case anyone was wondering Cheeseburger != Cheezburg

Realistically, this is more likely an outgrowth of the "War On Drugs" than anything else

WayneB is correct, I'd surmise. I recall a sheriff in Broward County (South Florida) who made a practice of having his officers routinely search cars meeting a certain profile (recent year U.S.-made 4-doors driven by brown or black men), seize any large cash quantities they found on the grounds that the money was likely due to the drug trade, and keep the cash. They'd let the person have most of it back if it could be proven legitimate. It's one of the consequences of the "war" mentality when it comes to drugs. Big quantities of cash are automatically assumed to be drug money by law enforcement. Or perhaps these days, terrorist money. But I'm still guessing it's mostly assumed to be drugs.

Bierfeldt did the right thing here. Law enforcement types are always inclined to push boundaries of what is legal when interrogating suspects; it's up to informed citizens to(calmly and respectfully) hold their ground.

"Law enforcement types are always inclined to push boundaries of what is legal when interrogating suspects;"

Always? Always!

Always? Always!

Yes, that's how the incentives are aligned, and why cops are forced to go through procedural things like Mirandizing suspects. Cops don't get promoted, or get "atta-boys" from their superiors, or see criminals get convicted by playing nice with suspects. They get those things when suspects they arrest and interrogate are convicted. The history of our fourth and fifth amendment jurisprudence is all about the tension between officers seeking to push the boundaries to get convictions and those who wish to protect our rights to be free from unreasonable searches and self-incrimination. Sometimes we get more rights, sometimes less; it depends upon where the public and judiciary stand at any given moment.

Cheeseburger, can you paint a scenario where the source of that cash could be relevant to keeping flights safe? maybe I'm missing something here. I want possible terrorists caught before they blow up a plane just as much as anyone. But help me please to explain ANY possibility, however wild and improbable, where cash might be a factor affecting safety. I may be naive.

Wow, CNN is covering this 3 months later... it is nice to see the ACLU stepping in. I'm surprised they would at this point as the guy is a Ron Paul supporter.

The best part of Biefeldt's audio was the one cop talking about how he only carries $50 on him usually. I'd have been tempted to ask him if he was that much of a spendthrift or if it was his weekly allowance from the wife. The DEA threats were amusing too.

Is an "ass ton" of money more or less than a regular ton?

Why do they give a rat's patoot what he's doing with cash? Is U.S. currency explosive? Can you use it to hijack an airplane?

It's so amazing that police officers think they have a right to do this.

I'm reminded of a time I couldn't sleep so I took a walk down the street for a while. My bad. It was three in the morning and apparently that's all the "probable cause" the Gestapo needs.

May this prove to be useful to someone. It's a video about how to not surrender your rights when accosted by the police.

Clearly you people have forgotten 9/11.

At least since 11/4.

Cheezburg writes: "I recall a sheriff in Broward County (South Florida) who made a practice of having his officers routinely search cars meeting a certain profile (recent year U.S.-made 4-doors driven by brown or black men), seize any large cash quantities they found on the grounds that the money was likely due to the drug trade, and keep the cash. They'd let the person have most of it back if it could be proven legitimate. "

I lived in Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) back in the '80s, but the problem wasn't unique to there; jurisdictions all up and down I-95 were doing the same sort of thing. A common tactic, which it still stuns me that any court anywhere would stand for this sort of thing, was to file suit against the seized property -- not the property owner, the property itself. Of course, inanimate objects are seldom very good at mounting a legal defense, so the prosecutors always won a default judgement.

But help me please to explain ANY possibility, however wild and improbable, where cash might be a factor affecting safety.

Loose cash attracts strippers,

strippers distract pilots,

distracted pilots crash planes.

happens all the time.

Blarty writes:

Clearly you people have forgotten 9/11.

At least since 11/4.

And that is exactly the mentality that has this country in the mess that it's in right now. Cheney, through his puppet ruler Bush, exploited our fears of terrorist attacks and we grabbed our ankles and kissed our rights good-bye.

9/11 is not the justification to surrender our rights. On the contrary, that's the motivation to fight hardest for them.

"I understand that we all have constitutional rights, but this guy still seems like he could have just answered the questions pretty quickly and been out of there. He's right, he's not required to, but I think communication is pretty important."

You're 100% right, and I completley agree with what he was communicating.

BTW, did anyone lese notice the irony of these two gentlemen's accents? It was a flash back to the Civill Rights Movment, with the roles reversed. That's progress, of a sort.

"I think law enforcement officials are trained to look more closely at ANYTHING out of the ordinary, and I'm sorry, but carrying a box with an ass-ton of cash in it is a little out of the ordinary."

NOT WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, IT ISN'T. Leaving the country yes, but even then, the amount did not meet that threshold. And even if it were, these were TSA and drugs and drug money are not their mission. They need to stay their ass in their lane.

A metal box in a carry-on is a big red flag. Once it's found to have nothing DANGEROUS in it, there's no red flag.

"Clearly you people have forgotten 9/11."

Clearly you never knew much about it. The hijackers did not use boxes of cash in their attack - not a small detail. Clearly you are also completely unaware of the threat to the Constitution that your kind of fear mongering has posed - prime example, that Torqemada Rudi Giuliani. Thank God that ended on 11/4.

"Cheney, through his puppet ruler Bush, exploited our fears of terrorist attacks and we grabbed our ankles and kissed our rights good-bye."

Aah... another clueless spectator mad at somebody.

Your Congressman put the TSA in place. Go talk to him. If you even know who s/he is.

FYI, the following incident happened to me on August 17, 2008:

"This morning I had gone for a short walk as it had been raining the past two days and had been rather gloomy. The clouds had finally cleared and I was anxious to get out and have a look around. As I walked past the entrance of my apartment complex onto the street, I had noticed that there had been an "earthflow" over the past few days that had damaged the sidewalk by pushing it up quite a bit (it's below a steep slope with soft clay). I stood and looked at it for a minute or so, rather annoyed that this had already happened three times before in the past several years, and the powers that be only smooth it out and replace the sidewalk each time, rather than the more logical step of putting in a retaining wall first to prevent future recurrences. I then walked along, muttering to myself about the stupidity of it all. I walked up an intersecting street to a busy highway nearby, and back.

Being curious, I walked up onto the damaged sidewalk to have a better look (it wasn't all that dangerous, at least not yet). Then a police car came along (one I had noticed passing me a couple of minutes earlier). A policeman got out and asked me if I was feeling OK. He said that some people had been concerned that I looked "distressed." I explained that while I did suffer from some anxiety, I was really OK. He then asked if I was taking medication. I said that I was taking something for depression, but I really was fine otherwise. I mentioned that it was rather strange that someone had called about me, as I didn't think I had seemed all that upset. He said that it was just some concerned citizen. He then asked where I lived, and I told him that I was in the apartment complex right next to the street. He then asked if I was going to harm myself, and I replied "of course not." He then said he could then let me go, so I walked back to my apartment.

I mean, that was really embarassing. Somebody must have seen me looking annoyed about the damaged sidewalk, and assumed that I was some suicidal maniac. I can't even go for a walk in my neighborhood without something embarassing happening anymore."

Where did you get that wristwatch?
Is that a real IPhone. Prove it.
Why are you flying today? Prove it.

Never Talk to the Police

Prof. Duane explains in these videos why he is proud of the 5th Amendment, will never, ever talk to the police without a lawyer, and you shouldn't either. Don't take his word for it; he cites the advice of Nuremberg Trial Chief Prosecutor Robert Jackson, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prof. Duane is animated and interesting. This lecture is an eye-opener.

-----------
Schneier on Security 12/12/2005
A Pilot on Airline Security
www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/12/a_pilot_on_airl.html

=========
Actually, that Atta and his henchmen used box cutters to commandeer four aircraft means very little. Just as effectively, they could have employed snapped-off pieces of plastic, shattered bottles or, for that matter, their own bare fists and some clever wile. Sept. 11 had nothing to do with exploiting airport security and everything to do with exploiting our mindset at the time. What weapons the terrorists had or didn't have is essentially irrelevant. Hijackings, to that point in history, were perpetrated mainly through bluff, and while occasionally deadly, they seldom resulted in more than a temporary inconvenience -- diversions to Cuba or cities in the Middle East. The moment American flight 11 collided with the north tower of the World Trade Center, everything changed; good luck to the next skyjacker stupid enough to attempt the same stunt with anything less than a flamethrower in his hand.
=========

In case anyone was wondering Cheeseburger != Cheezburg

No, in this case Cheeseburger = douche bag.

I think communication is pretty important.
You are management material - the pointy-haired kind.

"Sept. 11 had nothing to do with exploiting airport security and everything to do with exploiting our mindset at the time."

And: Everything you see confiscated today was flying with few problems before the media- and government-fueled panic. Scissors, chainsaws, yard tools, even the occasional unchecked gun.

Oh, boy! Airport Security! Meanwhile, the border is totally porous, and passage by illegal means is actually defended by some people.

Panic. Then, bend over because you want to travel by air. TSA strip-searched Joe Foss, age 80-something, twice for carrying his Medal of Honor. He shouldn't have even had to pay airfare.

"In what way are any of us endangered by a man carrying a cashbox filled with money?"

Haven't you had a paper cut before? Aren't they painful? Obviously he planned to attack over 4000 people on the plane!

good idea, let's just give in and answer unreasonable questions by "authoriies", let's not make a fuss when we start losing our rights for "security", because we wouldn't want another 9/11.

let's also proceed to spit in the face and on the graves of every veteran who ever fought for this country.

i'd rather not do that. if we do that, the terrorists win, no matter how many buildings we still have.

i think patrick henry had it right. and no compromise about it.

"And, as far as that Steve Bierfield's tactics go, with his answering a question with a question, I'd have kept him in that locked room just because he was irritating me."

So I guess you never really liked that whole citizen, rights, and freedom thing for other people when it was explained in grade school.

"Your Congressman put the TSA in place. Go talk to him. If you even know who s/he is."

That Congressman also forged President Bush's signature on the bill creating the TSA.
You probably didn't know that.

Actually, Gog, I know how bills are passed.

But the despicable habit people have of blaming or crediting the President for everything is the reason for our current situation.