Posted on 07/01/2006 10:39:30 PM PDT by skeptoid
HONOLULU - An Spanish-speaking man who defense attorneys said was misunderstood by fellow passengers on a flight to Hawaii was found not guilty of interfering with a flight crew.
Santiago Lol Tizol, 37, who is Guatemalan, had been accused of threatening to kill a baby and assaulting the airline crew. A federal jury found him not guilty on Friday.
"This was paranoia on a cramped plane where people were pretty stressed out," said Assistant Federal Defender Matthew Winters. "He was not trying to assault or intimidate anyone on this plane."
Tizol paced the aisles of the Dec. 9 Northwest Airlines flight bound for Honolulu from Los Angeles and didn't return to his seat when flight attendants yelled at him in English, Winters said. At one point, passengers heard Tizol use a Spanish word they thought sounded like "baby" and believed he was going to strangle a 3-year-old on the plane.
When he headed toward the first-class bathroom near the cockpit, at least four passengers tackled him, Winters said.
Tizol had accidentally spilled water, drenching his clothes and seat, and was walking around because he was wet, the attorney said.
"I feel very satisfied," Tizol said through an interpreter. "I'm very happy because I think I didn't do anything wrong."
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Shipley said he respected the jury's verdict, but disagreed with the defense's assertion that Tizol was a victim of paranoia.
Tizol would have faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
This is a welcome reassurance: ...Never Again.
The Guatemalan should be required to apologize and formally thank his 'restrainers'.
I feel sorry for my kids and grandkid(s).
No one agrees more than I on the need for people to be vigilant, but I don't know enough about this case to automatically condemn the man. Reality is that some people have been arrested upon landing simply because they dared question some smart-alec flight attendant. I specifically remember an incident (3-4 years ago perhaps?) in which a minister had what turned out to be a mild disagreement with a stewardess, only to find himself in cuffs the moment the plane landed. MANY of these flight attendants have a snotty attitude and IMHO they have too much power in such cases.
MM
People are afraid because there really are lots of atrocity loving muslims eager to mass murder us.
Bad mistake on his part, could have cost him his life. That said, the language problem was his. There are a LOT fewer problems on aircraft these days than pre-9/11.
Don't worry, they'll be fine. I think we have a new finer crop of kids coming up right now. Just look at our military if you want to see the best youngsters today.
The flight attendant asked those seated in the exit row if they agree to perform the duties in case of an emergency. One of the guys says, "sure, if I live through emergency." Well, the FA went balistic.
"All I want from you is a simple yes or no. I don't need your sarcasm or your stupid attempt at humor. OK, now I'm going to ask again and just answer yes or no. Do you agree ..."
So he says, "Yes, is that succinct enough for you?" Uh, oh...
She's screaming now - I swear half the plane could hear her at this point - "I don't need any lip from you. I can have you kicked off this flight right now. Do you understand that? You better start showing me some respect. I can call the police and have you arrested right now. I'm going to the captain..."
Well, about a minute later another flight attendant comes back and asks the area (not focussing on the guy, just asking the following question to an area of about 10 people) - "Is everything ok? We can take off and not have any problems, right?" And that was pretty much the end of it.
Some of these flight attendants are on a real power trip. In hindsight, I guess the guy should have just said "yes". But was what he said worthy of the above exchange. Luckily, the captain had shown some restraint. But after seeing this exchange, I can see where some people might be unfairly accused. Unfortunately for this guy, anyone who was more than a few rows away probably thought he was a nut, because they only heard the reaction to his comment.
Yeah I know two flight attendants, and you have to hear the stories they tell me, some of the nonsense they have to put up with, it`s unreal. People walking up the aisles when the plane is taking off (if you can believe it), people constantly ringing for them, people constantly complaining, drunk a-holes who hit on them.. It seems this FA went overboard, but it could be because she had a really bad experience before with a former passenger and did not want to take any mouthing off whatsoever.
Then she should find a new job. That exchage was BS. She should be written up.
I think since (and actually before) 9/11 that everyone, no matter what language you speak or don't speak should be minding their p's and q's on planes and in airports these days. The trip will be over in a couple of hours and then everyone can go on their merry way.
Usually just keeping your comments plain and simple won't get you in trouble. And I know because I can be kind of a smart a$$ sometimes with the "witty" and ironic comments.
Seems everyone is on a power trip these days. From the young rookie cop with his radar gun ,the people who make you take your shoes off to board the plane,the Stewardess.
I think I will drive when I can. I never have to take any crap from the folks at Wawa.
-When he headed toward the first-class bathroom near the cockpit, at least four passengers tackled him-
I love it when I hear of people doing this. You'd be crazy to try to hijack a plane these days.
That's right. The customer is always right no matter how wrong, or big a jerk, he is, right? Flight attendants are there to serve, right?
Overboard, no. Previous bad experience? If she was a FA on September 11, yes and if she became a FA after September 11, I salute her. I don't fault her in the least. These FAs are civilians who are obviously working under great pressure once in flight with no real 'out' in a bad situation. Granted, there are definitely power trip issues with TSA attendants but I don't think it's fair to lump everyone in that same pot. I think she was very generous, actually. I have a short fuse with stupid remarks about the war.
Watch now and see if he doesn't turn around and sue the airline and any passengers he can identify (or all of them, for that matter) because of the "emotional distress" he endured.
Illegal or not, I bet he can't wait to hit "lawsuit lotto".
"Lol Tizol"--that man is Mayan. I wonder if his appearance aggravated the situation. He may not have even spoke Spanish very well. I knew someone here of Mayan descent who was approached by people speaking arabic on several occasions. His Mayan features were mistakenly taken as Arab by Arabs. We used to joke with him and call him the Prince of Saud.
"Usually just keeping your comments plain and simple won't get you in trouble."
Yep I do the same thing. Guess I'm a good trained sheeple when I fly.
I've seen both, out of control crew and out of control passengers. A flight attendent shouldn't have the authority they have.
This and the TSA clowns are the primary reason I only fly when I absolutely have to.
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