Houston Chronicle

Chicago officials release the account of the aviation officer involved in United’s dragging incident.

- By Don Babwin

CHICAGO — The physician who was dragged off a United Express flight in Chicago this month was verbally and physically abusive, and flailing his arms before he lost his balance and struck his mouth on an armrest, according to the officer who pulled the man out of his seat.

The Chicago Department of Aviation on Monday released the officer’s report of the incident, in response to a Freedom of Informatio­n Act request by the Associated Press.

The incident — which was videotaped by other passengers and shared online — became an internatio­nal embarrassm­ent for both the airline and the city’s aviation department.

The report also includes the name of the officer, James Long, who authoritie­s initially declined to identify.

In the report, Long said he boarded the flight after being called in response to a disturbanc­e involving two people regarding a refusal to leave the aircraft. United has said four passengers had been ordered off the airplane to make room for four employees to fly to Louisville, Ky.

Long said he approached Dr. David Dao to ask the 69-year-old physician to get off the plane. Long said Dao refused and “folded his arms tightly.” Long said he reached out to “hold” Dao and was able to pull him away from his window seat on the aircraft and move toward the aisle.

“But suddenly the subject started flailing and fighting,” Long wrote.

Dao then knocked Long’s hand off his arm, causing the struggling Dao to fall and strike his mouth on an arm rest on the other side of the aisle, according to the report. Long said he then dragged Dao because Dao refused to stand up.

Long said he wrote the report and gave his version of events only because he faced losing his job.

Dao’s attorney said the doctor suffered a broken nose and a concussion, and lost two front teeth.

Long said that once off the plane, Dao said he was a diabetic, but then got up off the floor and ran back onto the aircraft. Long alleges Dao, while running back to the plane, said they’d have to kill him.

Long and two other aviation officers were subsequent­ly placed on leave.

The report jibes with comments that United CEO Oscar Munoz made in the aftermath of the incident, in which he called Dao belligeren­t. Munoz later offered a more emphatic mea culpa, saying: “No one should ever be mistreated this way.” The aviation department has also apologized.

In another case, a woman who was confronted by an American Airlines flight attendant over her baby stroller on Friday has hired Thomas Demetrio, Dao’s attorney.

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