Posted on 12/08/2005 12:21:37 PM PST by Rennes Templar
A passenger on Flight 924 gives his account of the shooting and says Rigoberto Alpizar never claimed to have a bomb
By SIOBHAN MORRISSEY/MIAMI
At least one passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 924 maintains the federal air marshals were a little too quick on the draw when they shot and killed Rigoberto Alpizar as he frantically attempted to run off the airplane shortly before take-off.
"I don't think they needed to use deadly force with the guy," says John McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker from Sebastian, Fla. "He was getting off the plane." McAlhany also maintains that Alpizar never mentioned having a bomb.
"I never heard the word 'bomb' on the plane," McAlhany told TIME in a telephone interview. "I never heard the word bomb until the FBI asked me did you hear the word bomb. That is ridiculous." Even the authorities didn't come out and say bomb, McAlhany says. "They asked, 'Did you hear anything about the b-word?'" he says. "That's what they called it."
When the incident began McAlhany was in seat 24C, in the middle of the plane. "[Alpizar] was in the back," McAlhany says, "a few seats from the back bathroom. He sat down." Then, McAlhany says, "I heard an argument with his wife. He was saying 'I have to get off the plane.' She said, 'Calm down.'"
Alpizar took off running down the aisle, with his wife close behind him. "She was running behind him saying, 'He's sick. He's sick. He's ill. He's got a disorder," McAlhany recalls. "I don't know if she said bipolar disorder [as one witness has alleged]. She was trying to explain to the marshals that he was ill. He just wanted to get off the plane."
McAlhany described Alpizar as carrying a big backpack and wearing a fanny pack in front. He says it would have been impossible for Alpizar to lie flat on the floor of the plane, as marshals ordered him to do, with the fanny pack on. "You can't get on the ground with a fanny pack," he says. "You have to move it to the side."
By the time Alpizar made it to the front of the airplane, the crew had ordered the rest of the passengers to get down between the seats. "I didn't see him get shot," he says. "They kept telling me to get down. I heard about five shots."
McAlhany says he tried to see what was happening just in case he needed to take evasive action. "I wanted to make sure if anything was coming toward me and they were killing passengers I would have a chance to break somebody's neck," he says. "I was looking through the seats because I wanted to see what was coming.
"I was on the phone with my brother. Somebody came down the aisle and put a shotgun to the back of my head and said put your hands on the seat in front of you. I got my cell phone karate chopped out of my hand. Then I realized it was an official."
In the ensuing events, many of the passengers began crying in fear, he recalls. "They were pointing the guns directly at us instead of pointing them to the ground," he says "One little girl was crying. There was a lady crying all the way to the hotel."
McAlhany said he saw Alpizar before the flight and is absolutely stunned by what unfolded on the airplane. He says he saw Alpizar eating a sandwich in the boarding area before getting on the plane. He looked normal at that time, McAlhany says. He thinks the whole thing was a mistake: "I don't believe he should be dead right now."
It is?
Exactly. He was making a problem of himself in a serious situation. He's lucky that he wasn't hauled out of there in handcuffs.
So, does "bipolar" mean what I think it means?
One hallmark of a foaming at the mouth, card-carrying, Left-Wing ACLU type is to assume that law enforcement officers are always in the wrong when a criminal suspect who poses a threat to public safety, and refuses to comply with lawful instructions, is shot.
McAlhany says he tried to see what was happening just in case he needed to take evasive action. "I wanted to make sure if anything was coming toward me and they were killing passengers I would have a chance to break somebody's neck," he says. so I could be one of the first on TV!
They really scare me and they happen for apparently no reason, she hyperventilates and can not be still.
Crowds and confined places like planes really set her off.
I predict this guy will run the table on talk shows tonight.
I can almost see him crying with Anderson Cooper.
Because when people argue, they tend to get loud. Also, when the guy starting running up the aisle, I'm sure all of the passengers started to pay close attention to what was going on.
This witness may be mistaken, but no reason to shoot the messenger.
Buy her a couple of Margaritas in the bar before you board.
Someone should send the contradictory articles to Drudge. Something is not right about his story.
A Miami SWAT team boarded the plane after the shooting. That's probably where the shotgun came from.
Let's face it, most people don't like having weapons leveled at them, or being in the middle of shootouts, or having their bags blown apart, or any number of things that went on. As a result, a lot of them are going to give accounts hostile to the marshals.
The marshal messed up, plain and simple, his job is to shoot terrorists, Rigoberto Alpizar was not a terrorist. It was an understandable error, given the circumstances, but an error none the less.
The unfortunate consequence of his error is that there are going to be more formal procedures and second guessing that are going to limit the aggressiveness of the marshals during a real attack.
Try this on for size:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The hearts of all NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) members go out to the family of Rigoberto Alpizar and to the marshals involved in the shooting, who we know must be profoundly affected by this tragedy. We recognize that air marshals have very difficult jobs and sometimes have to make split second, life and death decisions. NAMI calls upon the Federal Air Marshall Service and all other law enforcement agencies to take a close look at its training and education protocols and, if currently lacking, adopt measures to prepare officers to respond effectively to people with severe mental illness. Law enforcement officers frequently come into contact with people who may be acting erratically or irrationally due to severe mental illnesses or other brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Many communities throughout the United States, including Miami, have adopted Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs to better prepare officers to respond to these situations. These programs work and save lives!
I suspect that you are going to see more and more of this type of language "We know they have to make split second decisions - but...". Unfortuately this is the process that helps us begin to slowly slide towards the next 9/11
Margaritas and Two pills work.
So? If you were in a bank that was robbed but never heard the word "stickup", does that mean it was not spoken to a teller?
If the guy had a bomb, do you think maybe criticism of TSA would come into play? An effective bomber wouldn't announce before detonation, they try to avoid detection, so criticism of a marshall would be out of line in the event of a detonation. The marshall's job in flight is to protect the flight deck.
Oh-oh.....seems a repeat of the British event (Brazilian engineer shot to death)
Go to the doctor and get some Ativan's.
Eyewitnesses are historically unreliable. You'll get fifty different versions of events from 50 people.
Only planes set me off. But if you've ever had a panic attack on an airplane, you don't really want to get back on one! I'm sorry you're wife has them tho. They suck.
susie
bookmark
Bingo! I'd bet that the marshalls carry Glocks or Sigs in 9mm.
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