An unruly passenger was tased on board a Chicago-bound American Airlines flight for behaving inappropriately with a female passenger Sunday, April 22. The incident happened on Flight 2446 when it was about to take off from Miami airport.
According to several reports, the man, identified as 28-year-old Jacob Garcia from Chicago, got involved in an argument with another passenger after he was moved to a different seat by the cabin crew.
It all began when Garcia touched a female passenger inappropriately on the flight. The cabin crew moved Garcia to another seat. But the unruly passenger began to scream and abuse the woman and her boyfriend using racial slurs.
The situation turned so worse that the cabin crew was forced to deplane all the passengers for their safety.
In a video, which was captured by another passenger, all the flight passengers were seen chanting, "Get him off! Get him off!"
"Johnson, watch out," one officer says in the video, just before tasing Garcia. After getting tased, the accused even mocks the officer, saying: "Go ahead, Johnson, get the f--- out of here."
Another video also emerged online, which shows Garcia is being engaged in a fight with a police officer. Then he asks; "What is the reason why you are removing me from the plane?" he asks.
"You just assaulted a lady, for one," someone responds.
You can watch both the videos here. [Warning: It contains foul language.]
#AA2246 - from my POV pic.twitter.com/JvLugLLKCs
— Jabari Ennis (@PoleVaultDream) April 23, 2018
Describing the incident, American Airlines said in a statement, "a disagreement occurred between two passengers on American Airlines flight #2446 from Miami to Chicago O'Hare."
"Once law enforcement was on the aircraft, the passenger then became combative with the officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department. The same passenger was subsequently arrested by law enforcement."
Garcia was reportedly tased 10 times in a period of 50 seconds by the police officers. He has been charged with battery alongside disorderly conduct, depriving an officer of a firearm, resisting an officer, and criminal mischief.
He has been held on a $6,000 bond, according to a spokesperson for the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
