Local 10 reports that a Miramar woman onboard a U.S. Airways flight out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was allegedly disruptive prior to take-off and had to be removed from the airplane by Broward Sheriff’s deputies.
The article is vague about how the disruption began, but allegedly the woman was not compliant with instructions provided by flight attendants.
A few BSO deputies came onboard to assist in removing the woman. That’s when BSO deputies claim that the woman became aggressive and screamed profanities.
More deputies came in to assist and that’s when the woman apparently became violent. She is accused of kicking one deputy, striking another with her elbow, and scratching two.
The woman was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting an officer with violence, and two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer (LEO).
It is not difficult to get arrested onboard a plane. Ever since 9/11, any sense of humanity and customer service has been removed from the airline industry. What remains is paranoia and reaction.
Flying can be stressful and not everybody reacts well to it. Whereas a disruptive passenger used to be talked to by the flight crew and possibly calmed down, now they just call the cops.
In fact, disrupting a flight is a federal offense.
A little humanity and compassion usually quells an unruly situation. Maybe the woman was anxious or in the midst of a panic attack. Many people are deathly afraid of flying.
But airline employees will not take those more humane measures. Cops will be called, and the arrival of multiple police officers rarely makes a bad situation better. Cops responding to a disturbance are on-edge, aggressive, and usually make disruptive people more disruptive.
Disorderly conduct is a second-degree misdemeanor, whereas resisting with violence and Batt LEO are third-degree felonies.