Alpizar's wife had already told the air marshals that Alpizar was sick, that he was her husband. She was still on board, having returned to get a bag. The air marshals were not in uniform. I might assume that a passenger who I was told was sick was in fact sick and disoriented. If Alpizar's behavior was more alarming than described by the passengers, ie getting up and leaving the plane, I might assume that I should call for TSA help; with two air marshals on the scene already I don't think, given the information, and the fact that the passenger was already off the plane, that he needed shooting.
The fact is that checked baggage has already gone through screening, and the plane could (as has happened on other occasions when a passenger doesn't board) fly with the baggage on board. Or the baggage could be removed; the flight attendants know who is in each seat and all baggage has computer coded id.
In fact, from the news and passenger reports that I've seen, there was no reason for the air marshals to get involved at all; it appears that it was they who escalated a mundane, nonthreatening situation until they got out of control; and tried to cover up a unjustified shooting by putting out "I have a bomb in my bag" story.
And this took place on the ground, off the plane. A recent thread had a couple of Playboy Playmates who got out of control in the air; if these marshals had been on the flight would you have defended shooting those girls?
Let me try again.
What assumption do you think should be made when someone disembarks from a plane leaving the checked luggage behind. when you answer this honestly we can move to step 2 in your logic lesson.
Maybe I'm missing it but where did the wife tell the marshal's her husband was sick? From what I read she made comnments as she followed her husband but turned back to get her purse. So when did she have contact with the marshals in order to tell them he was sick? Sounds to me as if she initially was following, saying he was sick and probably trying to calm him to get him back to their seats then when she realized he was intent on exiting the plane she turned back to get her purse. I haven't read where any of the marshal's heard her before they confronted him.
I feel very sorry for the wife in all of this because she was dealing with a sick man. She was doing her best to get him home and in some ways was caught between a rock and a hard place. She couldn't necessarily tell the airline personnel he was having an episode because they wouldn't have been allowed to board. She may have been able to have some control of him prior to his snapping. Then he snaps and won't listen to her, he panics and charges down the aisle to get out of the plane. In his confused mind he may have thought there was a bomb on the plane and he may have been muttering or saying something about a bomb. Wife has gone back to get her purse and all the marshal knows is what he's seeing.