Passengers Behavior Leads To Airport Arrests

December 20, 2007

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Federal aviation officers with special training helped Phoenix police arrest three men at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport earlier this month.

“The Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques program allows the Transportation Security Administration to concentrate on finding people that may be a threat to aviation instead of only dangerous items,” said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez.

“We are proud of the work our Behavior Detection Officers do, both in Phoenix and in airports around the country,” he added.

TSA officers get four days of classroom instruction, 24 hours of on-the-job-training and mentoring. Plus, each year, officers must be re-certified, Melendez said.

The TSA’s goal is to detect uncontrolled physical responses and body language that could point to suspicious behavior.

On Dec. 4, Juan Carlos Berriel-Castillo, 22, and Bernardo Carmona-Olivares, 20, were planning to fly to Maui but were instead arrested on suspicion of forgery.

They tried to pass through a Terminal 4 security checkpoint with suspicious documents, Phoenix police spokeswoman Stacie Derge said.

The pair had false permanent-resident identification, and authorities also found false Social Security cards, officials say.

While the pair were questioned about the papers, a TSA official who had received behavior-recognition training observed a third man in the area who appeared to be connected to Berriel-Castillo and Carmona-Olivares, Melendez said.

As a result, police later arrested Samuel Gonzalez, 32. A background check revealed that Gonzalez was wanted on two misdemeanor warrants. Phoenix police didn’t have details on the warrants, Derge said.
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