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posted by on Wednesday April 12 2017, @03:37PM   Printer-friendly
from the customer-relations dept.

NPR reports

Passengers on a United Express flight from Chicago to Louisville, Ky., were horrified when a man was forcibly removed--violently wrenched from his seat and physically dragged down the aisle. [...] Videos of the scene have prompted calls to boycott United Airlines.

[...] The Chicago Department of Aviation [...] says the actions of the security officers were "not condoned by the Department" and that one individual has been placed on leave pending a review.

[...] Passengers had already boarded on Sunday evening [April 10] at O'Hare International Airport when United asked for volunteers to take another flight the next day to make room for four United staff members who needed seats.

The airline offered $400 and a free hotel, passenger Audra D. Bridges told the Louisville Courier-Journal. When no one volunteered, the offer was doubled to $800. When there were still no bites, the airline selected four passengers to leave the flight--including the man in the video and his wife.

"They told him he had been selected randomly to be taken off the flight", Bridges said.

[...] The man said he was a doctor and that he "needed to work at the hospital the next day", passenger Jayse D. Anspach said.

[...] Both Bridges and Anspach posted videos of three security officers, who appear to be wearing the uniforms of Chicago aviation police, wrenching the man out of his seat, prompting wails. His face appeared to strike an armrest. Then they dragged his limp body down the aisle.

Footage shows the man was bleeding from the mouth as they dragged him away. His glasses were askew and his shirt was riding up over his belly.

"It looked like he was knocked out, because he went limp and quiet and they dragged him out of the plane like a rag doll", Anspach wrote.

Previous: Days After United Settlement, Baggage Handler Locked in Cargo Hold on NC-to-DC Flight


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 12 2017, @04:08PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 12 2017, @04:08PM (#492841)

    Wow, that is the worst bit of rationalizing I've seen in a while. Cause a doctor sitting peacefully on a plane really sets off their PTSD.

    This is a good indicator of the Police State we are now living in. We've kinda lived in a police state for a long time, but generally the corruption and bad police culture were more isolated. Now we have increasing numbers of police officers and various security personnel who want to bust heads and "lay down the law". It is the perfect job for a psychopath, from their point of view. They get to assault people and enjoy a level of unprecedented power, all legally sanctioned so that they can fall back on "Just following orders".

    Of course this is also a shining example of a corporation getting government to do their dirty work. Expect this type of scenario to become increasingly more common with the excuse: "they're a private corporation if you don't like what they're doing vote with your wallet!" Lawl. Never truly thought I'd see the US turn into this post 9/11 nightmare, I miss the "freedom" of the 90s.

    At this point I'm thinking we bump up the pay for police officers and take away their guns. Maybe it will improve their public relations when officers can't rely on basic intimidation to get cooperation.

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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday April 12 2017, @05:16PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday April 12 2017, @05:16PM (#492898)

    > Never truly thought I'd see the US turn into this post 9/11 nightmare, I miss the "freedom" of the 90s.

    9/11, Dubya, 2008 crisis...
    A trifecta that will be dissected by many history books.
    The US has known many crises before, but the rest of the world is very different from what it was then.