Orlando police say a woman forced her way into the secure area of Orlando International Airport without going through security, then struck an officer who was trying to arrest her before being subdued with a Taser.
An employee at curbside check-in told police that 38-year-old Angela McNaughton, of Orlando, drove up to the curb Wednesday around 8:30 p.m. and demanded to be checked in for a flight and to have her truck parked.
When the employee told her he could not find her reservation, she allegedly told him to “have the (expletive) thing towed,” and then stormed off into the airport near the Southwest Airlines ticket counter.
Once inside, officers said McNaughton walked up to the Known Crew Member entrance of the east security checkpoint. When a Transportation Security Administration worker tried to stop her and ask for her credentials, officers said she stated she "knew her rights," before shoving the TSA officer out of the way.
Police said surveillance video shows a silver knife either being thrown or falling out of her jacket.
With McNaughton in the secure area, the TSA officer radioed that there had been a security breach.
Several nearby officers quickly caught up to her as she walked closer to the passenger trains that go to the terminals. McNaughton swore at the officers pursuing her, police said.
As one officer tried to grab her, police said McNaughton dropped her purse, her jacket and other items and yelled at the officer to pick them up.
Police said McNaughton then struck that officer several times in the chest, grabbed his radio and threw it to the ground.
McNaughton refused to lie facedown on the ground, which made it impossible for the officer to arrest her, police said. The officer used his Taser on McNaughton, who "started to scream and thrash about wildly," police said.
McNaughton eventually complied, but wouldn’t communicate or assist the airport firefighters who came to check her for any injuries, police said.
According to police, an officer found a military ID and a container with 12 grams of cannabis inside of it.
Police charged McNaughton with battery on a law enforcement officer, cannabis possession, and other charges.
On Friday the TSA said that McNaughton was not an authorized employee. The agency also said the incident did not affect security screenings.
The security breach happened just a few days after the airport made national headlines when a TSA worker jumped to his death from an upper balcony of the airport Hyatt Regency, which overlooks the atrium at one of the security checkpoints. Thousands of passengers' flights were delayed or canceled because of that incident.
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