December 30, 2002
Port's Details on Monahan Incident
Early on, I posted about an alleged incident at the Portland International Airport involving one Nicholas Monahan. For what it's worth, what follows is the response I received when I contacted the Port of Portland asking for their statement on the incident:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide some details related to an article circulating on the internet written by Nicholas Monahan.
Please understand that the security checkpoints are operated and staffed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the airport has no control over the management of the checkpoint or the screeners who work there. Therefore, the TSA is the appropriate organization to contact regarding traveler and baggage screening procedures at the checkpoint.
The Port does, however, have supervision and control over the Port of Portland Police officers who responded to this particular matter. Port Police were called to the checkpoint by the TSA to respond to an altercation with a passenger, who turned out to be Mr. Monahan. When Port Police arrived on the scene, they observed Mr. Monahan exhibiting aggressive and disruptive behavior which caused operations at the security checkpoint to be temporarily halted. Port Police first attempted to get Mr. Monahan to calm down, but when those efforts failed, the officers involved felt they had no other reasonable or safe recourse than to take Mr. Monahan into custody. He was detained for less than two hours, cited for disorderly conduct, and then escorted off airport property. After reviewing the citation issued by Port Police, the Multnomah County District Attorney elected to prosecute. According to Mr. Monahan, he plead no contest.
Mr. Monahan also contacted the Port's aviation director about this incident. After reviewing the incident, and understanding that Mr. Monahan had a business travel need to use the airport, the aviation director used his discretion to rescind the Port's exclusion order. Based on review of this incident, the Port believes the officers acted appropriately.
While this will not, of course, settle once and for all the question of whose characterization of the incident is correct (and, in the end, nothing will ever completely settle that question), this statement from the Port of Portland does, at least, confirm that some sort of incident took place, that it did involve Nicholas Monahan, it did include a detention, and that it did end up in court.
Which side's description of the incident is closer to the truth we will likely never know. But at least the basic fact of an incident having occurred at all is now confirmed.
The rest is all subjective interpretation and a matter of choosing who to believe.