2 Aviation Cops Who Dragged Doctor Off United Flight Have Been Fired

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 17, 2017 8:25PM

Two Aviation Security Officers involved in the infamous, violent dragging of Dr. David Dao from a United flight in April have been fired, according to the Office of Inspector General.

Four officers were determined to have "mishandled" the "non-threatening situation" aboard the flight at O'Hare International Airport. One officer, "who improperly escalated the incident," and a sergeant, who purposefully took out facts from a report, were both terminated, the OIG said on Tuesday.

The two other officers involved were suspended. One was suspended for five days, but it was knocked down to two days after he lodged a formal grievance; the other also filed a grievance against his five-day punishment, but then withdrew it and resigned, the report states.

"The investigation also uncovered that the employees made misleading statements and deliberately removed material facts from their reports," according to Inspector General Joseph Ferguson's quarterly report.

The Chicago Department of Aviation is currently reviewing policies and procedures. Its assessment will be done early next year, the OIG said.

Thomas Demetrio, the lawyer the represented Dao, said news of the officers' termination was not cause for celebration on the part of his client, "who is neither vindictive nor happy about Mr. Ferguson’s findings."

Demetrio added:



"There is a lesson to be learned here for police officers at all levels. Do not state something that is clearly contrary to video viewed by the world. But for the video, the filed report stating that only 'minimal' force was used would have been unnoticed. Simply put, don’t make stuff up. Also, the Inspector General's report should become the poster child for why passengers should always maintain the right to videotape mistreatment of all kinds. Our cell phones are the best deterrent to ensure mistreatment becomes a rarity."

Dao, 69, suffered a broken nose and concussion and lost two front teeth when he was violently dragged off Flight 3411 at O'Hare. Dao told aviation cops he had patients to see the next day and refused to be bumped from the flight in order to make space for airline staff. United's initial responses prompted a public-relations fiasco.

Dao settled in late late April for an undisclosed sum.

The CDA announced in July that Chicago police—not Aviation Security Officers—would be lead responders for disturbance calls at airports and on planes, and aviation officers would have markings changed on their uniforms to reflect their role as security, not police.