Saturday, May 15, 2010

Woman grabs child on flight to Las Vegas

Phoenix police are investigating an incident on a Southwest Airlines flight where a woman allegedly grabbed a child who was kicking the back of her seat in March.

James Holmes of the Phoenix Police Department said a mother is pressing charges against a 42-year-old woman who allegedly assaulted her 3-year-old boy while they were on Southwest flight 582 heading to Las Vegas at the gate of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Mar. 21 at about 7 p.m.

No arrests have been made because police are still gathering names of witnesses from Southwest Airlines, but the mother described the incident to police:

Her three-year-old son either kicked or put his feet up on the back of the woman's seat when she turned around and grabbed him. The woman told the child, "You're not going to be kicking my seat all the way to Las Vegas," while she shook him and then slammed him back on the seat, the mother told police.

She and other passengers began to argue with the woman after the incident, and both parties were taken off the plane to discuss the situation.

Staff had assured her that the woman would not be allowed back on the flight, and she returned to her seats with her children, Holmes said. The woman, however, did board the same plane again, and chose to sit in the same seat over other empty seats.

During the flight, the woman harassed the family and threw garbage at them. The mother told police that the woman appeared to be intoxicated.


(Jolie McCullough - The Arizona Republic)

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