Thanks for addressing my question, Indy.Indy wrote: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:1. I assume that is what they were doing.Indy wrote: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.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?
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.
In that location, I would say that any attempt to resist being moved by police would constitute a danger to those around you. A struggle in the tight confines of an airplane seems to me like a sure bet that someone is going to get hurt. In a small crowded space like that, police can't use their techniques for bodily walking someone out under control. IMO, if he had struggled in the seats or in the isle someone would have ended up with something worse than a headache and a bruise.
Obv, we didn't see what took place before the recording started or hear what was said between the officers and the man. It could be that the man said "hang on, I've just got to get my bag." But I assume that's not what happened. When the officer reached in to drag him out, did the guy go limp and let himself be dragged? We can't see what happened, but it sounded to me like he screamed and thrashed around.
If that is the case, again, what else should the police do? It is their job to protect the rights of the airline and the other citizens on that plane. How should they remove him if he has backed himself into a very tight space and is fighting being removed?