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U.S. NEWS A5
Friday 5 May 2017
California family with 2 toddlers booted from Delta flight
DAVID KOENIG to a Transportation Security Delta Air Lines planes are parked at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Washington.
CHRISTOPHER WEBER Administration spokesman. A California family says they were forced off a Delta plane and threatened with jail after refusing
AP Airlines Writer By late Thursday afternoon, to give up one of their children’s seats on a crowded flight. A video of the April 23, 2017, incident
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Delta Delta still had not explained was uploaded to Facebook on Wednesday, May 3, 2017, and adds to the list of recent encounters
Air Lines is offering refunds why the Schears were re- on airlines that went viral, including the dragging of a passenger off a United Express plane.
and compensation to a moved from the plane. A
California family that says spokesman said the flight (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
they were forced off a was not overbooked.
plane and threatened with On the video, Brian Schear a seat for children under ment late Thursday after- A spokesman said Delta
jail after refusing to give can be heard talking with 2 and put them in an ap- noon. would not disclose the
up one of their seats on a a person off-camera — it is proved child-safety seat. “We are sorry for the un- amount of the refund or
crowded flight. not clear whether that per- Brian Schear spoke briefly fortunate experience our compensation.
A video of the April 23 inci- son is a Delta employee, to The Associated Press customers had with Delta, Congress held two hearings
dent was uploaded to You- a security officer, or some- by telephone Thursday and we’ve reached out to this week on airline custom-
Tube on Wednesday and body else. and said he has been them to refund their travel er service — a response to
added to the list of recent After Schear says that he overwhelmed by media and provide additional the video of Chicago air-
encounters on airlines that won’t leave — the airline requests. He declined ad- compensation,” the state- port security officers drag-
have gone viral, including will have to remove him ditional comment said the ment read. Delta said its ging a 69-year-old man off
the dragging of a bloodied — the person off-camera family may hold a news goal is to work with custom- a United Express flight to
passenger off a United Ex- replies, “You and your wife conference. ers to resolve travel issues, make room for crew mem-
press plane. will be in jail ... it’s a federal The Atlanta-based airline “that did not happen in this bers who were traveling for
Brian and Brittany Schear of offense if you don’t abide” issued an updated state- case and we apologize.” work. q
Huntington Beach, Califor- by an airline crew’s order.
nia, told KABC-TV in Los An- Schear then suggests that
geles that they were return- his wife could hold one of
ing from Hawaii with their the toddlers during takeoff
two toddlers. They wanted and then put the young-
to put one of the children in ster in the car seat. Another
a seat they had bought for person, who appears to
their 18-year-old son, who be a Delta supervisor, tells
instead flew home on an him that federal rules re-
earlier flight. quire that children under 2
Delta says on its web- must stay in a parent’s lap
site that tickets cannot throughout the flight.
be transferred and name That is false. The Federal
changes are not allowed. Aviation Administration
Federal regulations do not “strongly urges” that infants
bar changing the name on be in a car seat, although
a ticket as long as the new it permits those under 2 to
passenger’s name can be be held in a parent’s lap.
run through a data base On its website, Delta rec-
before the flight, according ommends that parents buy
Chicago shooting prompts push to better arm police officers
DON BABWIN to protect themselves from Yards neighborhood on One officer was shot in the carry semi-automatic long
Associated Press gang members who are the city’s South Side, where arm and hip and the oth- guns if they are trained and
CHICAGO (AP) — The shoot- favoring these weapons the two officers were shot er in the back. They have certified, but there aren’t
ing of two plainclothes of- more and more. and wounded Tuesday. been released from the enough instructors.
ficers with a high-powered “We are now seeing a big Occupants in two vehicles hospital. They were con- “My brother is a Chica-
rifle this week was a chill- push on the street of gang opened fire on the officers ducting a follow-up inves- go police officer, he was
ing reminder of something members carrying semi- who were sitting in an un- tigation to a previous in- trained (to use these weap-
Chicago police have long automatic weapons and marked vehicle. No arrests cident and were wearing ons) in the Marines and it
said: They are outgunned high-powered assault rifles have been made. civilian clothes with vests still took him 2 ½ years to
by the city’s gangs. and using them in the com- “We have been investigat- bearing police badges. get certified,” Alderman
Now, four aldermen who mission of crimes, shooting ing increased sightings or More than a dozen bullets Anthony Napolitano said.
are all former Chicago po- police officers and one an- use of AR-15s, or assault ri- were recovered from the “His partner did two tours of
lice officers are pushing to other as well,” Alderman fles, in the conflict between scene of Tuesday’s shoot- duty in Iraq, he was a colo-
get as many officers trained Christopher Taliaferro said. two rival gangs in that ing. nel, and he’s been waiting
in using high-powered long This is particularly true, po- area,” police spokesman The aldermen say Chicago at least a year to get certi-
guns as quickly as possible lice say, in the Back of the Anthony Guglielmi said. officers are now allowed to fied.” q
