Airport officer fired after scuffle with ‘intoxicated’ passenger, Georgia police say
A retired officer and contract worker accused of striking an “intoxicated” traveler during a scuffle at the Atlanta airport is now out of a job, authorities said.
The officer responded to a report of an unruly passenger causing a disturbance on a flight out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Tuesday, Aug. 2, Atlanta police wrote in a news release.
As the officer tried talking to the man, things turned physical, according to authorities.
The Atlanta Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards launched an investigation after officials were made aware of the incident.
“The officer, a retired Atlanta Police Officer employed as a contract worker at the airport, was relieved of duty,” the department said. “Based on the findings of the investigation, the retired officer’s employment contract with the airport has been terminated and he has been removed from the APD’s Retired Reserve program.”
The disruptive passenger ignored the officer’s requests to remain seated and tried to leave, WAGA reported, citing police. That’s when the officer used his baton and hit the man in the head, authorities said.
Additional officers arrived and “observed (the officer’s) extended baton” and a “significant amount of blood” near the international terminal checkpoint, according to WGCL, citing a police incident report.
Before the struggle, witnesses said the man spewed insults at gate agents and, at one point, lunged at the airport officer, the news station reported.
The traveler was treated at a hospital and later arrested on public drunkenness and simple battery charges, according to WAGA.
The case has been turned over to the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine possible charges against the officer.
This story was originally published August 12, 2022 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Airport officer fired after scuffle with ‘intoxicated’ passenger, Georgia police say."