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Nashville airport cop threatens to arrest stranded passengers waiting to rebook cancelled Southwest flights
An airport police officer allegedly threatened to arrest passengers for trespassing when they were stranded at the Nashville International Airport amid widespread holiday flight delays. In a video, posted on Tuesday by former state house candidate Brad Batt, an officer can be heard saying, “You will be arrested for trespassing.” All around him, a group of dismayed passengers tries to explain that they no longer have valid tickets for the nearby gate because of problems with their flights. “Are… (www.msn.com) More...
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This is similar to a situation I experienced flying Southwest into BWI some years ago. We landed moments before an evening thunderstorm hit. There was an understandable delay offloading baggage during the storm. But after the storm passed, and competing airlines resumed offloading and delivering baggage, Southwest hadn't begun. And the baggage office was saying nothing. There was a large crowd of folks becoming more vocal demanding answers when nothing--not even an insincere apology--was offered. The lack of any communication from Southwest was the triggering factor that led to the incident. Southwest dealt with the situation by calling in the MDTA police; an officer stood on a chair, placed his hand on his holstered firearm, and announced that the crowd would be arrested at Southwest's request if it didn't disperse. My incident, and the recent Nashville situation, have the same proximate causes: lack of honest communication from Southwest and an apparently propensity ( encouraged by Southwest?) to call on law enforcement to handle a situation for which they are particularly ill-equipped. Both causes are exacerbated by poor training, supervision, and management by both the airline and law enforcement agency. I can't imagine that calling the police on paying customers who only want what they paid for is a sustainable business model for success.
SWA baggage handling at BWI has always been terrible. The other airlines are fine. On a good day expect to wait close to an hour for your checked bag on SWA
Anytime a police officer is dealing with a tense situation, they are train to secure their weapon with a hand. As an auditor for a large law enforcement agency, I experienced this occasionally, but was never shot.
Separately, some of these comments are very telling in a Freudian way.
Separately, some of these comments are very telling in a Freudian way.
Anytime a police officer is dealing with a tense situation, they are trained to secure their weapon by placing a hand on it. As an auditor for a large law enforcement agency, I experienced this occasionally, but was never shot.
Separately, some of these comments are awkwardly revealing in a Freudian manner.
Separately, some of these comments are awkwardly revealing in a Freudian manner.
[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]
If you were an officer, you should know that sometimes, using your discretion is the best way to handle things
I'm ex-POlice. There's no excuse for being "badge heavy". It's the mark of a lousy police officer.
Yes, but that's not what was happening in this instance.
I was an officer. Yes, using discretion is the best way. Okay of that discretion is weighing how much you place your own job at risk by not following the law.
