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Two security officers who were caught on video in April forcibly removing a passenger from a United Airlines flight in Chicago were fired after the incident that sparked widespread public outrage.

In a report, Chicago's Office of the Inspector General found that three Chicago Department of Aviation security officers "improperly escalated the incident" and that a sergeant "made misleading statements and deliberately removed material facts from their reports" on the April 9 incident aboard United Express Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville, Ky., according to The Associated Press.

Several passengers used their mobile phones to film the incident. Those videos were widely shared on social media and turned into a major public relations debacle for the airline. Officers are seen grabbing the passenger — Dr. David Dao — who was selected apparently at random to be removed from the flight.

NPR's Camila Domonoske reported at the time

said his client sustained a broken nose and lost teeth

 as he was dragged off the flight. United apologized for the incident and later 

Besides the two officers who were fired, two others received short-term suspensions and one of them subsequently resigned, the report says. The names of the four were not released.

Demetrio told the AP on Tuesday that he and his client were not expecting the dismissal of the security officer who is not a sergeant but said it may resonate with others.


"In firing him, perhaps it will send a clear message to police and airline personnel all over the world that unnecessary violence is not the way to handle passenger matters," Demetrio told the news agency.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Crime, Law and Justice

David Dao, a 69-year-old Kentucky doctor was injured as he was dragged from a United Express flight in April. Video taken by fellow passengers went viral, sparking outrage.

Officers fired after forcible removal of United Airlines passenger

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