The Chicago Department of Aviation has released a report saying that officers used “minimal but necessary force” when they dragged passenger Dr. David Dao from an overbooked United Airlines flight 3411 earlier this month.
Video of the violent incident, in which a clearly injured Dao, 69, was dragged from the flight with blood spewing from his mouth, drew worldwide headlines and intense backlash after other passengers uploaded the footage online.
United compounded the bad publicity with its handling of the aftermath of the uproar, at first defending its policy.
But the new report out of Chicago labels Dao as “aggressive” and claims he “violently: swung his arms at officers before they removed him from the flight. The findings note that security was only called after Dao began to yell and refused to give his seat up.
“I’m not leaving this flight that I paid money for. I don’t care if I get arrested,” Dao said, according to the report. The report details how an officer pulled Dao from his seat and toward the aisle, but lost his grip when Dao continued to fight.
“The subject fell and hit his mouth on the armrest across from him, which caused an injury to his mouth,” the report reads.
Dao has since hired powerful Chicago attorneys Thomas A. Demetrio and Stephen L. Golan, who say Dao has a significant concussion and plans to sue the airline, ABC 7 Chicago reports. In response to reports that Dao caused his own injuries, Demetrio told the outlet: “It’s utter nonsense. Consider the source.”
Read the full report here in the Chicago Tribune here.
—RealClearLife
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
