Assault of TSA officers at Portland airport leads to home detention
Portland OR Sept 13 2018
An Army veteran who was drunk and threatened a Transportation Security Administration screener at Portland International Airport was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation, including three months of home detention, for assaulting two officers.
The prosecutor said the sentencing, following the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, is a reminder of the government’s continued obligation to secure the nation’s airports.
Anthony Wayne Tavoloni Jr.’s case also shines a light on the mental health challenges soldiers face upon returning to the community after combat service, the prosecutor and defense lawyer said.
Tavoloni, 45, served three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was drunk when he confronted TSA officers on Aug. 20, 2017.
When he approached the screening line at the airport and a TSA official asked for his boarding pass, Tavoloni said, “No.” When the officer asked for the pass a second time, Tavoloni dropped his backpack on the floor, took two steps toward the officer and stated, “You really want to do this?” according to the government.
Tavoloni then tried to wrestle another officer out of his way, before two passengers tried to restrain him and other TSA officers wrestled him to the ground, according to the prosecutor.
“The officers at TSA have a hard enough job doing what they need to do to protect all of us,” U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon told Tavoloni. “When they encounter the sort of incident you caused, it just makes their job even harder.”
Simon also said he recognized the contributions Tavoloni made to the country and the challenges he faced.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Brassell requested six months of home detention for Tavoloni as part of his probation. With TSA supervisors attending the hearing, Brassell told the court that one of the victims is still suffering at work from this encounter.
“The damage he caused was real,” Brassell said.
Defense lawyer Conor Huseby said the home detention wasn’t warranted, noting his client is working, attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and hasn’t had any violations while awaiting sentencing.
Huseby said Tavoloni has undergone a remarkable transformation since his arrest, when he was “as low as a human being could be … suicidal, depressed, spiritually bankrupt.”
The judge decided to place Tavoloni on 90 days of home detention.
“You owe a debt to society for the harm that you have caused,” Simon said. “There has to be some reckoning for that.”
As conditions of his probation, Tavoloni also will be on GPS monitoring for three months and alcohol monitoring for six months. He must participate in treatment for alcohol abuse and mental health.
The prosecutor asked that Tavoloni also be required to get approval from his probation officer before entering the airport again. The judge didn’t think that was necessary.
Simon sought to make sure that Tavoloni doesn’t intend to cause TSA any further problems.
“If you’re traveling or picking up a passenger at the airport, you don’t anticipate any problems with TSA?” Simon asked him.
“Correct, your honor,” Tavoloni responded.
