I don’t ask this to criticize the passengers in any way — I wasn’t there and I can’t be sure what I would have done — but why didn’t anyone turn on their cell phone and call the police?
The whole thing started over an electronic device. Even if passengers other than LE types like Brown could be certain that AirTran hadn't called the proper authorities, they'd likely be reticent to do anything that could possibly be construed as behavior similar to that of the disruptor[s]. Just a guess, of course, as is much of the discussion, since AirTran chose to stop way short of clarity in its ostensible efforts to clarify.
Good question, but that doesn’t alleviate the airline and airport from their responsibilities.