American Airlines Passenger Removed From Flight, Tasered By Police Due To Allegedly ‘Uncooperative’ Behavior

An American Airlines flight from Miami to Chicago was reportedly delayed on Sunday night after a man was removed for groping a female passenger, getting into an argument with her boyfriend, and acting “uncooperative” when apprehended by law enforcement officials.

According to a report from ABC 7 Chicago, a witness was able to capture the incident on video, where a man identified as 28-year-old Chicago resident Jacob Garcia got into an altercation with another passenger. Upon being asked by crew members to leave the plane, Garcia reportedly refused, which prompted police offers to board the plane and subdue the man with a Taser.

Separately, the Miami New Times offered more details about the altercation, stating that Garcia allegedly groped the girlfriend of one of his fellow passengers. Flight attendants then asked Garcia to move to another seat, but instead of cooperating, he reportedly “began to scream [at] and insult” the couple, provoking a physical argument. One passenger was quoted by the publication as having heard Garcia use “racist” language during the incident.

Despite being hit with the Taser several times by police, Garcia still refused to deplane and continued acting uncooperatively when he was finally removed from the flight, the New Times added. According to police officers, Garcia caused $150 worth of damage to a police cruiser window after he was arrested.

ABC 7 Chicago added that the incident caused the American Airlines flight to be delayed for about one hour.

“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,” read a statement from American Airlines.

Police officials told ABC 7 Chicago that Jacob Garcia was charged with battery, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, resisting an officer, and depriving an officer of means of protection. As of Monday morning, he is still being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami.

The dramatic, violent arrest on board an American Airlines flight last night started with another passenger claiming that 28-year-old Jacob A. Garcia had groped his girlfriend. https://t.co/Lm1B8WSaFA

— Miami New Times (@miaminewtimes) April 23, 2018

The American Airlines incident came not long after multiple reports detailed another instance of purportedly unruly behavior on a commercial flight. As reported previously by the Inquisitr, Sarah Beach was arrested after an alleged incident that took place last Friday during a Delta Air Lines flight from London to Salt Lake City. A witness claimed that the 45-year-old Beach threw coffee at her fellow passengers, and later on created an even bigger scene, running up and down the aisle and attacking an air marshal who was accompanying her to the plane’s lavatory. According to Fox News, Beach was arraigned on Friday in U.S. District Court, where she was charged with misdemeanor assault and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.