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'Unacceptable': Viral video shows TSA agent treating bomb dog 'like a rag' at Detroit airport

TSA claimed that the employee has been stripped of all handling responsibilities while an investigation is conducted

DETROIT, MICHIGAN: A Transportation Security Administration agent allegedly mistreated an assistance dog at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. A video of the male TSA agent repeatedly pulling an assistance dog by the neck was posted on Twitter on Monday, May 8, and it received a range of responses from users.

Twitter account with the username @CalltoActivism posted the video with the message that read, "OUTRAGEOUS: This TSA agent at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport was caught on video repeatedly yanking the service dog by the neck. He should be identified and fired immediately." Over 1.3k comments have been left on the video, which has about 1.1 million views. In the video, a TSA explosives detection canine handler is seen pulling a working dog arrogantly through the airport. The handler and dog travel back and forth on the same route throughout the entire video.

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'Fire this man immediately'

On Twitter, a lot of people have reacted to the video by calling for TSA to fire the agent. One person tweeted, "@TSA Have you seen this? He's mad about something and he's taking it out on the dog. Fire this man immediately."

Another person tweeted, "Something seems off here. Suspend and fire if improper and that's just cause i don't know their procedures. Which to me looks improper." A third person wrote, "It also looks like the poor dog needs a drink of water..He's treating him like a rag. I hope to God someone from the airport saw this video.."

One individual who felt the TSA agent didn't do any harm wrote, "He is not yanking dog by neck at all! The dog has on a harness! He is not hurting the dog! Your comments however will likely harm the man. You should be ashamed," to which another person responded, "Really... not yanking?!? Is that why the dog slid??"

This other person tweeted, "This is a training tactic to get your dog to walk alongside you, not in front of you. It's also being done horribly by a person that probably shouldn't even be around dogs, let alone training them for a professional job."

Was there any action taken by TSA against the employee?

TSA claimed that the employee has been stripped of all handling responsibilities while an investigation is conducted. The TSA issued the statement that read, "Video showing a TSA explosive detection canine handler aggressively pulling a dog working in a Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) terminal was shared with local leadership this morning," according to WXYZ.

"The behavior displayed by this handler is unacceptable and not within the high standards we hold our officers to. TSA officials at DTW have removed the employee from handling duties pending completion of an investigation, and directed that the canine be taken immediately to a veterinarian for a wellness exam," the statement concluded.

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online