Last night at work ended up being a wild one. Minding my own business while waiting for my final flight to come in, a cleaning lady with only three days on the job to her credit passed by. I only made note of her badge, knowing she was legal outside, and I went back on break.
Then, a loud "HONK!" I knew this to be a security door alarm and rushed outside. She tried to gain access through a sealed door that had never been opened in the five years I've been there (the door is reserved for emergency sheriff usage only). Obviously due to her lack of experience, she just stood there, shocked while continuing to hold the door open.
I told her to close it immediately, and followed it up with proper procedure: airport operations needed to be called, and she needed to stand by that door until security came to clear her. I obtained the number from operations solely so she didn't have to stand there all night waiting for them to arrive.
My flight then came in and we took care of it. Upon punching out, I found there had been much fallout: apparently, everyone that came to the scene (and by that I mean everyone) gave her the ninth degree, threatened suspension, firing, retraining; the whole nine yards. She was on the verge of a breakdown. I saw her later in the baggage claim area complaining to some co-workers about the incident; awaiting her boyfriend to arrive and take her home, because she swore she was quitting after this incident.
I only hope that if she's thinking along logical lines, she doesn't attempt to blame me. I feel bad for her for the discomfort she experienced.
But I can't apologize for doing my job. If we are to earn a badge and keep it, we have to challenge any unnatural situation or allegedly illegal person. This is the number one thing you are trained for in order to keep the facility secure. If the roles were reversed, I would certainly expect to be come down upon. I would actually have been in a thankful mood for operations giving me the number to call myself, so I could explain first-hand what had happened.
Since I am not actual airport security, I cannot judge the harshness of the punishment they may have handed down. This is totally up to them and can vary depending on the scenario. The responsibility was on them. Call me a "trouble-starter" if you will; but with my actions, I knew I was achieving the exact opposite.
