Security officer in United passenger dragging case had just returned from suspension
One of the security officers who yanked a 69-year-old doctor off a United Airlines flight for refusing to give up his seat had recently returned to work after a suspension, records released Monday show.
Kentucky doctor David Dao was hospitalized for injuries after being dragged from an overbooked flight April 9 at O'Hare International Airport.
According to Chicago Department of Aviation documents, security officer James Long had been given a short suspension in March for failing to obey an order while on security detail in January.
Adam Rosen, spokesman for Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents Long and the other officers, said, “The January incident is unrelated to this incident and is still under investigation.”
The documents include accounts by Long and others describing Dao's behavior as leading to his injuries. The 69-year-old “said, 'I'm not leaving' and folded his arms tightly,” Long told his supervisor. When Long tried to hold Dao, he “started swinging his arms up and down with a closed fist,” Long said.
The “flailing and fighting” loosened Long's grip on Dao and “caused the subject to fall, hit and injure his mouth on the armrest,” the officer reported.
The scene was caught on video, prompting worldwide outrage at Dao's treatment, along with multiple investigations and a pending lawsuit.
Three CDA officers were suspended, including Long. Officer Mauricio Rodriguez, who also assisted in evicting Dao, told his supervisor Long used “minimal but necessary force.”
Local 73 withheld comment as investigations by the CDA and union continue, Rosen said.
Dao's family said the rough treatment broke his nose and teeth, caused a concussion and will require reconstructive surgery.
Rodriguez reported that he had tried to persuade Dao to leave but the doctor replied, “'I'm not leaving this flight that I paid money for. I don't care if I get arrested.'”
Dao's attorney called the security officers “storm troopers” and the ejection has sent United's popularity into a free fall and resulted in abject apologies from the airline and Chicago Department of Aviation.
Police testimony describes Dao going limp and being laid out on the jetbridge. But “somehow (he) rushed back onto the aircraft,” one airline employee reported. “He was spitting blood, saying, 'I'm going home. Just kill me.'”
Dao told Chicago police that he and his wife were initially interested in $800 per person vouchers in exchange for their seats until learning they could not get a flight back to Louisville that night. The two doctors needed to treat patients April 10, he said.
After declining, they were told a computer had randomly selected them to surrender their seats. Dao said all he could remember was a “tall, black guy lift me up and throw me to the floor,” police reported.
An April 17 memo from CDA deputy security Commissioner Jeffrey Redding reminds employees the “safety of innocent persons ... is of paramount importance.”
CDA officers are permitted to use only the “minimum force necessary” to control a situation, a department manual indicates.
Steven Smith, another officer involved in the dragging, and Rodriguez were suspended. Records also show CDA Sgt. John Moore, a supervisor, was suspended last week.
Aviation officers “are state-certified law enforcement officers and receive the same training as members of the Chicago Police Department,” Rosen said.
“They have provided lifesaving, first-response EMT services to the traveling public. It is aviation officers who work overnight to make sure that passengers and their families are protected and secure when they are left stranded or inconvenienced due to airline issues.”