Actually, the TSA has been severely criticised on following grounds:
1. Sleeping on the job!!!!
2. Failure of TSA screeners to detect fake bombs brought through security by undercover TSA agents, with detection levels much lower than San Francisco's private security agents from the same tests!!!!
3. Frequent theft of airline passenger possessions by TSA employees.
4. TSA employees skipping security checks.
5. Sales of items collected from passengers!!! ( They decided to make some money on the side.)
6. Failure to use good judgment and common sense!!! (This criticism fits the bill for this case)
Source:
Transportation Security Administration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia