The problem here is that there is no single ID for all armed law enforcement. How can I know what is right and wrong? Verbal approvals are specifically verboten.
Security concerns limit what I can say, but bear in mind that pilots are often notified in advance when an armed pax will be on their flight.
If this guy was rolled over from another flight, the pilot of the flight in question probably didn't receive his advance notice, add to that a problem with his paperwork, and then pax gets arrogant.
As a federal law enforcement officer he had plenty of avenues available to him to redress his problems with American's treatment of him if he had really been mistreated, most of them very effective government agencies.
Instead he went to the Arab anti defimation league or whatever and made his beef through there, which leads me to believe he is/was spoiling for a fight and this whole thing will wind up with him filing a lawsuit against AA so that he can get a Lotto type payout, which I now think was his intention all along.
This is the same sort of crap that lead up to 9/11. There is a great profiling system called CAPS. it picked out many of the 9/11 hijackers and though we are forbidden from using it on people because of "Arab outrage" after the persian gulf war, we can use it on their bags (which they don't know about) which is why Atta's bags never made it out of boston. They were still being screened when the flight left.
So Boo hoo, they were mean to me.
Folks, incase you don't get it, its war right now and security is high. If you don't behave nin an expected manner (even for reason's not known to you, like the crew wasn't notified in advance of your presence, or your paper work is dorked up) expect to be taken aside.
The fact that AA is backing the pilot (Which they absolutely never do) is more than enough evidence that this guy was not cooperative and was suspicious.
Cheers
Wino