A federal air marshal was arrested after being accused of snapping cellphone photographs underneath women’s skirts and dresses as they boarded a flight in Nashville, TN on Thursday.
The 28-year-old marshal, Adam Joseph Bartsch, of Rockville, MD, was charged with disorderly conduct by police. He admitted to the crime, known colloquially as 'upskirting', and has been relieved of his duties while the Transportation Security Administration considers whether to suspend or terminate his employment.
"(The TSA) does not tolerate that sort of criminal behavior," said Michael Pascarella, spokesman for the Federal Air Marshal Service, which is overseen by the TSA, to the Associated Press.
According to the police, Bartsch was on duty when a witness realized he was taking photos of women as they walked by. When the witness brought this to the attention of a flight attendant, airport police were informed and Bartsch was removed from the plane, a Southwest Airlines flight traveling from Nashville to Tampa, FL.
"We removed a passenger from Flight No. 3132 from Nashville to Tampa prior to departure due to a Customer concern that was brought to our attention," Southwest said in a statement to NBC News. "We turned the matter over to local law enforcement, and the passenger did not travel as scheduled."
Bartsch is scheduled to appear in court on November 14.