United Passenger-Dragging: 2 Chicago Aviation Cops Fired Over Incident

CHICAGO, IL — Two aviation security officers involved in the highly publicized dragging of a passenger from his seat aboard a United Airlines flight at O'Hare International Airport have been fired by the Chicago Department of Aviation, according to the quarterly report by the city's Office of Inspector General. The firings were recommended by Inspector General Joe Ferguson following an investigation by his office that determined the officers "mishandled a non-threatening situation" when they violently removed Dr. David Dao from a Chicago-to-Louisville flight in April, stated the report, which was released Tuesday. The investigation also found that the officers made misleading statements and "deliberately removed material facts from their reports," the inspector general wrote.

On April 9, Dao, a 69-year-old physician from Kentucky, was one of four people randomly chosen to be bumped from Unted flight 3411 so airline employees could fly. When Dao refused to give up his seat, he was forcibly dragged down the plane's aisle by Chicago aviation officers. He suffered a concussion, a broken nose and other injuries from the incident.

Watch: United Passenger-Dragging: 2 Chicago Aviation Cops Fired Over Incident

Video of Dao's dragging spread across social media and created a media storm of outrage directed at Chicago-based United and its handling of the situation. Dao and the airline eventually reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount following the incident. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

The three aviation officers who pulled Dao from his seat and the sergeant who assisted them after the passenger was off the plane were placed on administrative leave by the aviation department pending an investigation. All four officers were found by the inspector general's office to have violated the city's personnel rules, but the agency only recommended termination for the first aviation officer and the sergeant. (The OIG report does not identify the officers by name.)

Two other officers involved in the incident were given five-day suspensions, and they filed grievances with the aviation department over the punishment, according to the report. One of the officers — identified as the second officer in the OIG report — had his suspension reduced to two days, and the other — identified as the third officer — withdrew his grievance and resigned, the report stated.

Patch's United Flight 3411 Coverage

Feds Won't Fine United Airlines Over Passenger-Dragging: The Transportation Department, however, did determine that the Chicago-based carrier violated overbooking regulations in the April incident.

United Passenger, Airline Reach Confidential Settlement In Dragging Incident: VIDEO: The deal comes the same day as the Chicago-based company released its report on the events aboard flight 3411.

Passenger Was 'Aggressive'; Aviation Cops Used 'Minimal But Necessary Force': Incident Report: Records concerning the events of flight 3411 claim Dr. David Dao was combative with officers before being removed from the plane.

Passenger Dragged From Flight Suffered Concussion, Broken Nose: VIDEO: A lawsuit likely after United forced a doctor off the plane to "re-accommodate" him so an airline employee could take his seat.

United's Image Takes Online Beating In Memes, Comments: Social media reaction to video footage of a passenger being dragged from a full flight Sunday night has been swift and merciless.

According to the inspector general's report, the first aviation officer turned the incident from non-threatening to violent when he dragged Dao from his seat, a violation of the city aviation department's use of force policy. The investigation found that, in documenting the confrontation, the second officer "made misleading statements in two reports," while the third officer "made material omissions" in his report. The inspector general also found that the sergeant knowingly deleted facts from the third officer's report and approved reports that contained incomplete information.

During the investigation, the inspector general discovered "significant confusion" surrounding the expectations and roles of the aviation department's security officers, the report stated. The department is currently reviewing its policies and procedures and is expected to complete that by the first quarter of 2018.

Go to Chicago's Office of Inspector General website to read the full report.

Screen shot via Audra D. Bridges | Facebook

Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!

• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Check out the Events Calendar for what’s going on