One Nashville Airport police caught on camera threatening to arrest a black man Southwest Airlines customer for trespassing while she was waiting in line amid the chaos of holiday travel, the viral video showed.
The clip, which has amassed nearly a million views as of Friday, has been posted TikTok Wednesday by Amani Robinson20 years old, among tourists queuing at the counter outside the station gate.
“Your ticket has just been canceled” Air police tell stranded Southwest passenger while threatening arrest
“If you don’t have a ticket, you don’t have to be on the secured side,” the officer told frustrated customers.
“But we have tickets,” one of the passengers replied.
“Your ticket has just been canceled,” replied the officer.
Robinson’s mother, Shelley Morrison, can then be heard asking the officer why he was arresting them for trespassing at the airport, prompting him to reply, “if you don’t have a valid ticket and you are on the safe side and you refuse to leave, you will be arrested.
@a.ndreart Me and my family were trying to get to Ohio and we were threatened and stalked by this cop, lmk if you want to watch part 2 #southwestairlines #southwest #police #fypシ #foryoupage
♬ original sound – A.ndreart
She tried to explain to the officer that their flight had only been delayed, not cancelled, citing a text message the airline had sent her minutes earlier.
in other videotapes shared by Brad Batt, former Tennessee House of Representatives candidate, the officer can once again be heard telling a customer that “you will be arrested for trespassing.” That video has more than 3.8 million views as of Friday.
However, travelers countered that their tickets were only invalid because Southwest flights were canceled across the country, leaving thousands of passengers stranded during the holiday season.
“I don’t have a ticket. You don’t have to be on the safe side. Let’s go,” replied the policeman.
‘Completely inappropriate’ as police threaten to arrest passengers for ‘simply standing in line’
In the next video of Robinson and Morrison, also posted to TikTok, she continues to challenge the officer, arguing that his threat to arrest a passenger “just for standing in line” is “totally inappropriate.” “.
@a.ndreart Replying to @thequintavious1 Please note that we left and moved to another line after we left the first line. Then he FOLLOWED US to this line and specifically picked us out from a line full of people. We’re not the only ones in the second line coming from the first. He chose WE OUT. Also, we don’t know a lot of information regarding our ticket and we want to get clear (like every other customer) what is going on, which he is trying to prevent us from doing until this moment. I got part 3, when we left and he literally followed us and when we asked he lied and went in a different direction. #southwestairlines #southwest #fyp #foryou
♬ original sound – A.ndreart
Mother and daughter tell Tennessee that they are not disrespectful to Southwest employees or flight officers.
Robinson went on to say that one officer even followed them as they left the airport, only to go in the opposite direction when she questioned him about it.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, Nashville airport officials released a statement saying that police were dispatched to concourse C “to escort passengers to the ticket counter before security.”
“We understand and appreciate the frustration travelers may experience, and we are working to provide the best passenger experience for everyone,” airport officials said.
Southwest Airlines was forced to ground about 14,500 flights since last Friday, Flight Records show
The officers in the video have not been identified and airline officials would not comment on whether any passengers were actually arrested for trespassing.
WOW: Nashville airport police threatened to arrest stranded passengers standing in line at Southwest counter to rebook canceled flight (1/2) pic.twitter.com/UARLErYdSZ
– Brad Batt for TN State Sanity (@bradbatt) December 28, 2022
Passengers were stranded as a deadly winter storm raged across the country during the busy holiday weekend, killing more than 60 people and resulting in thousands of flight delays or cancellations. Shade room previous report.
Southwest Airlines alone has been forced to ground about 14,500 flights since last Friday, flight records show.
On Friday, the airline planned to get things back to normal, but it still recorded 41 cancellations and 99 delays at airports across the country.
It’s not the first time Southwest Airlines has been criticized for suspiciously racist situations
This is not the first time the airline has come under fire for suspicious racist situations.
Last year, a The white woman said Southwest Airlines asked her about human trafficking while traveling with her 10-year-old mixed-race daughter.
Mary MacCarthy accused two police officers and a Southwest employee of believing she was a trafficker while traveling with her daughter Moira from San Jose to Denver, Shade room reported at that time.
