This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Indianapolis • A Connecticut man arrested after allegedly punching a TSA screener at a security checkpoint at Indianapolis International Airport said Wednesday the incident was intended as a joke and not a challenge to the agency's controversial pat-down procedures.
John A. Christina, 51, Simsbury, Conn., faces a misdemeanor charge of battery causing injury. He is accused of hitting a Transportation Security Administration screener.
Christina was arrested by Indianapolis airport police soon after the incident at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday in the security checkpoint for Concourse B. He spent the night in a local jail and was released on $150 bond, with a trial date set for Dec. 13.
Christina is a computer consultant with clients across the country, so he travels frequently. He is accustomed to extra steps getting through security because he has two metal hip implants, a colostomy bag and a fused wrist.
In the incident in Indianapolis, Christina said, he had just stepped out of the full-body scanner, and he asked the nearest TSA agent about the next step in the process. That agent, Hutman, said he didn't know the process because he is new to the Indianapolis terminal.
Christina retorted with a punch or jab with a closed right fist to Hutman's chest and said he should know the procedure, according to the airport police report.
Christina said pat-downs for him are commonplace and he didn't intend to object.