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New video of passenger booted from United flight shows bloody aftermath; officer on leave
A United Airlines spokesman said, "Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologize for the overbook situation. Further details on the removed customer should be directed to authorities."
"I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers."
Awww. Thanks. Poor customers.
What is smallball? I play basketball. I'm not a regular big man. I can switch from the center to the guards. The game is evolving. I'd be dominAyton if the WNBA would let me in. - Ayton
Presumably a reference to the "Thanks, Obama!" meme.
Ah. I actually never saw that until I just googled it when you responded. Makes sense now. Thanks.
Yup, just a joke. I heard about this today at work. Crazy stuff. Good luck reaching out to him United. Pretty sure it's going to be his lawyer you're reaching out to. And they're going to be reaching back for an awful lot of dough.
"Too little, too late, too unbothered."
- Phoenix Suns 2023-2024 season motto.
Presumably a reference to the "Thanks, Obama!" meme.
Ah. I actually never saw that until I just googled it when you responded. Makes sense now. Thanks.
Yup, just a joke. I heard about this today at work. Crazy stuff. Good luck reaching out to him United. Pretty sure it's going to be his lawyer you're reaching out to. And they're going to be reaching back for an awful lot of dough.
United is in some real hot water for this one. I bet it costs them a bunch of business. So dumb and indefensible. They could have just driven that flight crew in 5 hours I read, or put them on the next flight. Why make such a violent scene? Let's not lose sight of the fact that it was the police officer who actually roughed up the passenger, not some United employee. Though the vast majority of men and women in uniform are amazing heroes, the increasing overall violence and militarization of our police concerns me.
Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:
Let's not lose sight of the fact that it was the police officer who actually roughed up the passenger, not some United employee.
The thread title is misleading, but it does seem to reflect how this incident is being widely perceived.
I honestly don't understand the outrage on this one. If a police officer tells you to do something, you do it or face the consequences. They weren't beating him in the aisle, or kicking him when he was defenseless. They just knocked him out and removed him from the plane.
For those that think this is terrible, what do you think the Police should have done in this situation?
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
O_Gardino wrote:I honestly don't understand the outrage on this one. If a police officer tells you to do something, you do it or face the consequences. They weren't beating him in the aisle, or kicking him when he was defenseless. They just knocked him out and removed him from the plane.
For those that think this is terrible, what do you think the Police should have done in this situation?
They can certainly arrest him. And may restrain him if he becomes violent. But you are not subject to violent acts by refusing to stand up. Physically striking him or striking is face on the seats isn't protected behavior unless he was a threat to them or people around him.
Marty [Mori Chu] wrote:United is in some real hot water for this one. I bet it costs them a bunch of business. So dumb and indefensible. They could have just driven that flight crew in 5 hours I read, or put them on the next flight. Why make such a violent scene? Let's not lose sight of the fact that it was the police officer who actually roughed up the passenger, not some United employee. Though the vast majority of men and women in uniform are amazing heroes, the increasing overall violence and militarization of our police concerns me.
A) They have lost about half a billion in their market cap since this story broke.
B) That was the last flight of the day.
C) The CEO is a bitch
O_Gardino wrote:I honestly don't understand the outrage on this one. If a police officer tells you to do something, you do it or face the consequences. They weren't beating him in the aisle, or kicking him when he was defenseless. They just knocked him out and removed him from the plane.
For those that think this is terrible, what do you think the Police should have done in this situation?
They can certainly arrest him. And may restrain him if he becomes violent. But you are not subject to violent acts by refusing to stand up. Physically striking him or striking is face on the seats isn't protected behavior unless he was a threat to them or people around him.
1. I assume that is what they were doing.
2. I think it overstates what the police did to describe knocking a guy out as "violent acts," and I think it understates the situation to say that all the guys was doing was "refusing to stand up." He was resisting the police, keeping a plane on the ground that should have been in the air, and had placed himself in a position where it was difficult for the police to get to him. So they knocked him out and pulled him out. That seems like a very reasonable course of action to me.
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
O_Gardino wrote:I honestly don't understand the outrage on this one. If a police officer tells you to do something, you do it or face the consequences. They weren't beating him in the aisle, or kicking him when he was defenseless. They just knocked him out and removed him from the plane.
For those that think this is terrible, what do you think the Police should have done in this situation?
They can certainly arrest him. And may restrain him if he becomes violent. But you are not subject to violent acts by refusing to stand up. Physically striking him or striking is face on the seats isn't protected behavior unless he was a threat to them or people around him.
1. I assume that is what they were doing.
2. I think it overstates what the police did to describe knocking a guy out as "violent acts," and I think it understates the situation to say that all the guys was doing was "refusing to stand up." He was resisting the police, keeping a plane on the ground that should have been in the air, and had placed himself in a position where it was difficult for the police to get to him. So they knocked him out and pulled him out. That seems like a very reasonable course of action to me.
The police are never at liberty to "knock you out" unless you are posing a threat of bodily harm to others/yourself. Delaying a flight isn't a threat to bodily harm (otherwise airlines would be "knocked out" on about a quarter of their flights)
O_Gardino wrote:I honestly don't understand the outrage on this one. If a police officer tells you to do something, you do it or face the consequences. They weren't beating him in the aisle, or kicking him when he was defenseless. They just knocked him out and removed him from the plane.
Wow. I can't believe you think that's OK and expected behavior, OG.
"Too little, too late, too unbothered."
- Phoenix Suns 2023-2024 season motto.
This is certainly bad publicity for United, but as far as I can tell, they didn't actually break any laws. Maybe the laws need to change.
Airlines are allowed to overbook. When it happens, if they don't get enough volunteers to give up their seats, they can bump passengers involuntarily. The compensation they are required to pay bumped passengers is set by statute, and if it's not enough to compensate a passenger for his loss, too damn bad.
Cap wrote:This is certainly bad publicity for United, but as far as I can tell, they didn't actually break any laws. Maybe the laws need to change.
Airlines are allowed to overbook. When it happens, if they don't get enough volunteers to give up their seats, they can bump passengers involuntarily. The compensation they are required to pay bumped passengers is set by statute, and if it's not enough to compensate a passenger for his loss, too damn bad.
The airline didn't break the law, but the people acting to remove the man is another story.
As far as the money, if you are delayed to your final destination by more than 2 hours, they have to offer 4x the cost of the one-way ticket, not to exceed 1350. It was a next day arrival, so it should have been 1350, not 800. And there is a provision in the law for a civil suit, and the DOT even provides a guide to how to navigate the small claims court to sue.