NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) ―The family of an Ohio man kicked off a plane at Miami International Airport for allegedly making anti-semitic remarks believes he was targeted because of his race.
Melissa Asad and her niece Gina were on board a Northwest Airlines flight with 43-year-old Mansor Mohammad Asad at Miami-International Airport bound for Detroit Wednesday night. The plane returned to the gate and they were kicked off.
"We did nothing wrong to be treated like we were treated; we were treated like animals basically," said Melissa Asad Mansor's sister. "They over exaggerated the whole situation, which she got away with it obviously," Melissa Asad said. She is referring to an off-duty flight attendant that overheard a conversation between her brother and another passenger talking about Palestinians and Jews.
She says the woman then ran to get security. "I think it was US Marshals, the guys with the guns came in there and was like you guys have to get off the plane."
Police say Mansor Mohammad Asad became disruptive, saying "I'm Palestinian, Jews should be killed."
But his sister says she and Asad's daughter witnessed something totally different.
"My brother didn't get into a scuffle, they got into a scuffle with him. They slammed him on the ground, he was faced down on the ground," said Asad.
She says her brother never tried to charge at them or fight back. But officers still shot him twice with a Taser. "How can you be fighting or anything with your head face down on the ground with somebody's knee in your back with guns over your head."
Mansor Asad went before a judge for a bond hearing Friday claiming his innocence. But the judge wasn't easy on him setting bond at $210-thousand.
This is excessive to family members who believe they did nothing wrong.
"It made me feel like we were mistreated, all of us," said Asad's daughter Gina.
Melissa Asad is upset and said, "Just because we're Arabic, I feel they're very, very, very racist against us."
Asad's attorney's said the whole incident was a misunderstanding, and if he posts the bond, he will be under house arrest with a relative in Fort Lauderdale.
And, it would be just that that would be the case.
And airplane is not a place to go parading one's distasteful political, social, or religious opinions. It is not a place to act out. It is not a place where one's normal free speech protections apply.
Flying on a jet airliner is a privilege, not a right.
I think this needs to be codified in law, if it is not already.
4 comments:
I don't know the details, but I would think that you have freedom of speech on an airplane parked on American soil. If he said, I am going to blow up this plane, that would be one thing. But, according to him, he made no terrorist threats. And, according to this story, he was having a private conversation.
And, yes, I have a right to throw you out of my business. But his purchasing of a ticket was a contract.
CJ - According to Miami-Dade police reports, here's what happened on and off the flight.
The plane was taxiing when a flight attendant alerted the captain of a passenger ``talking in a loud tone of voice and stating that he is Palestinian and that he wanted to kill all the Jews.''
As the flight attendant tried to give instructions before taking off, Asad, who was in seat 14-A, was loud once again and drinking beer.
At points Asad was speaking in a foreign language, thought to be Arabic, and made several derogatory statements about Jews.
He was then taken off the plane and searched. While they tried to search him, he berated officers and made racist comments.
According to the arrest affidavit, Asad said: `` `I'm not afraid of you cops. I've gotten in fights with cops in Ohio and broke their arms in three places. I've broken skulls too!' ''
He then prayed and chanted, before telling a cop to ``Go back to Africa, you white racist cop!''
Asad was tasered twice for aggressive behavior, CJ . . .continued:
". . .Asad was searched, but officers found no weapons or explosives.
During the search, his socks and shoes were removed. An officer took off Asad's right handcuff so he could put them back on.
When the officer did that, Asad once again started yelling at the officers.
He "stood up and rolled his sleeves up. He then clenched his fists and charged," toward an officer.
He wouldn't stop and an officer used a Taser on him. Asad fell to the ground, but did not listen to officers' commands and then tried to stand up. A Taser was used a second time. He was then handcuffed and taken to jail."
On an airplane, the Captain has the right to tell you to shut up. Free Speech rights do not apply. If this is not codified by law, it ought to be.
Think about it, John. You do not have the right to get up and down when you please on an airplane, right? You don't have the right the free practice of religious rituals. You don't have the right to bare arms.
Normal rights do not apply on airplanes.
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