Dulles TSA Chief Busted for DWI

January 2, 2004 9:48 AM

Charles Brady,TSA chief for Dulles Airport, was stopped at 1a by Airport Police near Dulles airport and charged with DWI. Brady was scheduled for Orange Alert Duty on New Year's Eve until 2a, and contends that he was stopped at 2:30a (30mins after his shift ended). I feel safer already!
posted by cpfeifer (25 comments total)

Side note: I feel safer already!
First time opening link, "need to ask you some questions", Washington post info, second time no problem.
posted by thomcatspike at 10:04 AM on January 2, 2004

Is this a security problem, or this guy's personal problem?
Ask that as we all have feet of clay being human. Anyone ever have to work New Year's Eve and participated in the celebration while on the clock? [raises hand: then looks at current employee handbook which says, alcohol at lunch is ok as long as it does not affect "work performance".]
posted by thomcatspike at 10:09 AM on January 2, 2004

Anyone ever have to work New Year's Eve and participated in the celebration while on the clock?

I'll bite with the obvious answer: yes, but I'm not responsible for the safety of thousands of air travelers during an ORANGE terror alert, at an airport that had earlier that day had an airline escorted in by fighters, etc.
posted by tippiedog at 10:12 AM on January 2, 2004

Maybe he's color-blind and thought it was a mauve terror alert or something.
posted by callmejay at 10:14 AM on January 2, 2004

Maybe he heard "Orange JUICE alert" and had a few screwdrivers as per procedure.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:52 AM on January 2, 2004

I can understanad a bit of holiday fun as thomcatspike brings up, but tippiedog has a point. This guy doesn't dig ditches or empty garbage cans for a living. While he isn't actually picking through people's luggage, he is responsible for all security at Dulles airport during his shift. If your judgement is impaired beyond the point of safely operating heavy machinery in public, maybe you shouldn't be making high-level policy decisions either.

This really doesn't help the TSA which has come under fire previously for incomplete background checks on security screeners (NYC, others).
posted by cpfeifer at 10:52 AM on January 2, 2004

Is this a security problem, or this guy's personal problem?

Both
posted by ElvisJesus at 11:02 AM on January 2, 2004

"Errr. Yellow... With wedged shapes inside...

"Errrrr..."

"So you see these signs too Dr. Black?"

"Why sure, Mrs. - errrrrr - Rectangular..."
posted by loquacious at 11:23 AM on January 2, 2004

"I feel better already!"
posted by loquacious at 11:24 AM on January 2, 2004

Anyone ever have to work New Year's Eve and participated in the celebration while on the clock?

i simply refuse to tell that story. but "unmitigated disaster" pretty much sums it up.
posted by quonsar at 11:57 AM on January 2, 2004

"Looks like I picked the wrong day to give up sniffing glue."
/AirplaneFilter
posted by stonerose at 12:00 PM on January 2, 2004

First time opening link, "need to ask you some questions", Washington post info, second time no problem.

Ahh, the wonder of cookies.
posted by milovoo at 12:09 PM on January 2, 2004

Agree as mentioned above: his problem has severely jeopardized his responsibilities.
posted by thomcatspike at 12:22 PM on January 2, 2004

milovoo, good one.
posted by thomcatspike at 12:22 PM on January 2, 2004

And he owns an Almanac.
posted by stbalbach at 12:23 PM on January 2, 2004

I doubt that the fact that one guy was drunk, even the boss, made the airport unsafe. Still...it just looks bad, ya know?
posted by JoanArkham at 12:38 PM on January 2, 2004

It's not much better in Philadelphia.
posted by Vidiot at 12:38 PM on January 2, 2004

> First time opening link, "need to ask you some questions", Washington post info,
> second time no problem.

If and only if you answer the questions the first time.
posted by jfuller at 1:32 PM on January 2, 2004

This is like a surgeon showing up drunk to the operating table. Yes, happy new year indeed. This guy is going to take a lot of unwarranted heat for the ills committed in the name of "homeland defense" -- note the nascent connection between the BritAir travellers and his condition.

This guy -should- be strung up by the highest pole for his violation of the public trust, however. I'm not expecting all these guys to be clean-cut "g" men the guy in charge of organizing things when That One Alarm Nobody Likes To Talk About goes off when he's on-call.

This isn't about delivering pizza, its about protecting lives. Obviously Charles made himeself a bad decision -- hopefully one that blows his security clearance and very publicly removes him from his post.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 2:19 PM on January 2, 2004

Cmon dudes, I have seen pilots getting shitfaced at Portland International often. It's not a problem, because they don't really do much with the plane besides fly it. Anyways, pilots who don't go across countries make less than 30k a year now, so why not get drunk between flights? It's probably the only way they can go on.
posted by Keyser Soze at 2:22 PM on January 2, 2004

Brady was scheduled for Orange Alert Duty on New Year's Eve until 2a, and contends that he was stopped at 2:30a (30mins after his shift ended).

And between 2:01 and 2:29 a.m. he got drunk enough to be noticed by the cops?
posted by NorthernLite at 2:46 PM on January 2, 2004

Northern Lite, you must be familiar with the expression cheap date.
posted by billsaysthis at 6:11 PM on January 2, 2004

Um.... it seems quite likely to me that he could have gotten drunk after his shift ended, rather then during it. You don't have to be that drunk to be "noticed" by the police. My car has been pulled over twice (once with me driving, another time by a friend) Both times we were totaly sober. (once, I missed the tail end of a yellow light, and the other time the window fogged up and my friend started playing with the defroster, while trending out of his lane)

So you don't need to be that drunk, or drunk at all to be pulled over as a suspected drunk.

You also don't need to drink that much to be legaly over the limit. 3 beers could easly put you over .18.

In other words, its very plausable that he started drinking after his shift. With no other evidence, claming that he was drunk while "responsible for people's lives" is a little assinine.

In fact, I'd be willing to be that most of you complaning arn't even afraid of terrorists anyway, and simply don't like the TSA.

----

On the other hand, Drunk drivers are much more of a danger then terrorists in general...
posted by delmoi at 5:59 AM on January 3, 2004

hmmm.... now actualy reading the article, it says he was pulled over at 1am. but why would someone 'contend' that they were arested at a diffrent time then they actualy were?
posted by delmoi at 6:03 AM on January 3, 2004

it says he was pulled over at 1am. but why would someone 'contend' that they were arested at a diffrent time then they actualy were?

Because if he was arrested @ 1a he was drunk and driving home when he was supposed to be on duty, but if he was arrested @ 2:30a, then he was just drunk and driving home after his shift ended.
posted by cpfeifer at 11:51 AM on January 4, 2004