On Monday, Dec. 12, a woman, who appears to be African-American, was forcibly removed from a Delta Air Lines plane at Detroit Metro Airport. In the video posted online by Rene deLambert, a woman is flat on her back as a Detroit police officer drags her by her arms.
According to CBS Detroit, the woman was removed because she allegedly did not follow proper boarding procedures. Passengers can be seen looking on as the woman is removed. While there are two officers on scene, only one can be seen actually removing the woman.
Blogger Rene deLambert who was sent the video by a passenger, recounted what lead to the incident as told by a passenger on board the flight.
“She didn’t check in with gate agent and walked right on. [The] woman blew by gate agent and didn’t check in because she wasn’t an early boarder and deserved overhead bin space. Colleague in back by her said she was mouthy and had a huge attitude. Police tackled her out of her seat and brought her to the ground. Not sure how she was subdued, some people speculated a taser.”
In the video, a woman can be heard in the background wondering whether the officers had tased the victim, though that has not been confirmed. There were a few whispers and snickers as the officer struggled to move the woman and near the end of the 2-minute clip, laughter broke out as the woman was finally taken out the door of the plane.
Delta Air Lines’ media relations manager, Erica Donerson, told Detroit’s WWJ Newsradio 950 by email that the woman was taken into custody.
“At approximately 8 this morning, Delta Air Lines contacted Detroit Metropolitan Airport’s police department requesting assistance with a passenger who would not comply with boarding and baggage check procedures at a McNamara Terminal gate,” the email stated.
The email also stated that the woman who was dragged did not comply when officers came on board to apprehend her.
After several attempts to reach out to Delta, Atlanta Black Star received a short statement via email on the matter:
“Delta flight 2083 DTW to SAN incurred a slight departure delay due to a passenger not complying with boarding and baggage check procedures. The passenger was removed by local law enforcement and the flight was able to continue without further incident.”
ABS will update this report as more details are revealed.
