Last Monday (May 29), a Southwest flight bound for Houston, Texas, was held up at the New Orleans terminal so authorities could remove a passenger refusing to get off the plane when being repeatedly asked to leave.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, the woman told authorities that she had paid for the flight at 7:30 p.m. when three bald deputies from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana pulled her from her chair.
When deputies pulled the woman into the aisle, she started yelling that they give her her phone as she was seen resisting.
One passenger is heard telling the woman she was making the situation worse, to which she replied, “No, I literally need my phone. I paid for that.”
The woman asked for her phone again, and one of the deputies was seen holding it and telling her he had it.
The camera then panned to another deputy who was seen handcuffing one of the woman’s arms before moving it to the other arm to secure them together. The woman said she was confused and didn’t know what was happening, asking one of the deputies to explain it to her.
Several passengers informed the woman that she was under arrest.
According to the person who uploaded the video, the woman was politely asked to leave the flight but refused several times.
As a result, the airline called for help.
However, Southwest Airlines and St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office have not commented on the incident.
