Three women charged in alleged attack at US airport that sent Delta security officer to hospital
Prosecutors said three US women had been indicted for allegedly punching and beating an airline security officer who tried to block them from boarding their Delta Air Lines flight to Puerto Rico last fall.
Jordan Nixon, 21, Janessa Torres, 21, and Johara Zavala, 44, all of Long Island, were arraigned Thursday in US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. All three pleaded not guilty. They were released on a US$25,000 bond and told they must limit their travel to New York City and Long Island.
Peter Guadagnino, representing Nixon, said his client denies the allegations. Jacob Barclay Mitchell, who is representing Zavala, and Mia Eisner-Grynberg, representing Torres, declined to comment.
According to an unsealed indictment Thursday, the alleged incident occurred at John F. Kennedy International Airport on September 22 (local time). The three women were scheduled to leave on a 12.55 pm flight to Puerto Rico. Still, they were acting belligerent, and one appeared to be "visibly disoriented and possibly intoxicated" when approaching the boarding area, prosecutors said. One woman also refused to wear her mask correctly.
In a separate filing in the case, prosecutors said the women had been scheduled to depart on an earlier flight slated to leave at 8.10 am but were rebooked. In the time before their 12.55 pm departure, prosecutors allege surveillance videos and receipts from bars and restaurants at the airport showed the women ordered about nine alcoholic beverages. According to court documents, when Nixon approached the gate, she held a clear to-go cup filled with an orange liquid that smelled alcoholic.
The gate agent reported the women's behaviour to the flight crew, and the flight's captain and another crew member determined the trio should not be allowed to board the plane. According to the filings, after an airline security officer asked the women to leave the jetway, they refused, then began yelling and cursing.
The filings allege Nixon tapped the security officer on the head, then took his radio and began hitting him with it until he fell to the ground. According to prosecutors, when another employee tried to help the officer, Zavala punched that employee in the face. All three women then began punching and kicking the officer as he was on the floor. Torres allegedly stepped on his head and face, causing his upper lip to bleed. When he tried to get up to seek help from other crew members, the women allegedly grabbed him by his vest, tearing it.
Members of the flight crew eventually pulled the guard behind the glass doors of the jetway. The three women continued to "scream and strike at the flight crew".
According to court papers, both the gate agent and security officer were hospitalised and have not returned to their jobs.
In a statement that accompanied the announcement of the arrest and indictment, Breon Peace, US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said: "The extreme and aggressive behaviour in connection with our air travel is out of control. This office has zero-tolerance for violent conduct that threatens the safety of airline passengers and employees and will prosecute defendants who allegedly engage in such conduct to the fullest extent of the law."
The number of incidents involving unruly passengers has risen sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, fuelled in part by the federal mask mandate for transportation. Unions representing airline workers have repeatedly called on the Justice Department to prosecute such cases more aggressively.
In November, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed federal prosecutors to prioritise investigations into such crimes.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been 76 reports of such incidents this year. Last year, there were nearly 6000 reports of unruly passenger behaviour, and the agency initiated investigations into more than 1000 incidents. The vast majority of incidents involve passengers who refuse to cooperate with the requirement to wear a mask when flying.
While much attention has focused on passengers who act out on flights, there have also been incidents at airports.
IN SEPTEMBER, the US Transportation Security Administration, charged with enforcing the federal mask mandate in airports, on trains, and in other transportation settings, said that it received more than 4000 reports of mask-related incidents since the requirement was put into place last year.
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