Florida Criminal Attorney Blog
Surveillance footage linked here shows the tense moments leading up to an altercation last week between a pilot and a passenger at Kansas City International Airport in Missouri.
The video shows two men entering the airport through an American Airlines gate on April 12. One man is wearing a pilot’s uniform and the other is wearing a blue shirt – he is a passenger.
The passenger appears to follow the pilot through the airport, arguing with him.
The passenger apparently told authorities the altercation began when the pilot, who was traveling as a passenger on the same flight, was “taking up too much room on the aircraft and being disrespectful,” according to an incident report filed by the Kansas City International Airport Police Department.
The passenger allegedly followed the pilot “outside the secure area” in an attempt to take a cellphone photo of his badge, according to reports.
The video shows the passenger’s cellphone being knocked out of his hand as the pilot tries to block his badge. The passenger allegedly grabbed the pilot by the shoulders and pushed him away, causing the pilot to trip over his own luggage.
After the physical altercation, the pilot apparently tried to leave the concourse to meet his wife waiting outside in a car. The passenger followed him, talking to the pilot and trying to take a photo of the car’s license plate, before airport police intervened, according to the incident report.
Police said that the incident was captured on video from the security cameras in the airport and that the footage was saved for further review.
Although the pilot walked away from the altercation, he “suffered lacerations to both legs and bruising to his forearm,” according to the incident report.
The passenger, a 49-year-old man, has been charged with “intentionally inflicting injury” on the pilot. His court date is set for May 16, according to court documents. He could face a fine or up to 180 days in jail.
Battery is a criminal charge that involves bodily injury against another person. Basically, a battery charges involves some type of willful and unlawful physical contact with another person. Battery charges are taken very seriously by law enforcement officers and prosecutors, so it is important to retain legal help as soon as possible to combat these charges.
Our Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can offer you dedicated and thorough legal help to improve the chances of beneficial outcome to your case. It may very well be possible to have the charges against you reduced or dropped just by explaining the circumstances of the incident, especially if you have no criminal history or acted in self-defense.
Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online if you have been charged with criminal battery and we will work to achieve a favorable resolution on your behalf. Your initial consultation with us is completely free.