First of all the “police” neither told him he was under arrest nor that he could be arrested. They were simply acting as a goon squad for the airline, illegally called in to remove him from the plane.
Question is how many times has this happened, with or without violence? While his present attorneys stated they are not making this a class action (as his individual damages will be far more than as a member of a class), somewhere I’m sure a law firm is preparing the groundwork for a class action by other passengers involuntarily removed from a United plane after boarding. Other actions are probably brewing for this particular flight - “intentional infliction of emotional distress” by the gate agent telling the passengers the flight would not leave unless four people volunteered or were taken off involuntarily for their $800 offer, and the ensuing violence witnessed by many close up.
Analogies have been made to Rosa Parks. While not racial in context, the analysis is quite appropriate. Someone finally stood up to illegal actions by the airline and the “police.” Once the passengers had boarded, the airlines are very limited in reasons why they can remove a paying passenger. At a minimum, this case has finally brought the “fine print” out for open discussion and analysis so many people understand their rights - and likely a lot of training is going on with “police” that may be called by an airline to remove someone. If the real police had actually been brought in, they likely would have told United to solve their problem themselves, recognizing arrest was not in the cards.
“illegally called in to remove him from the plane.”
The passenger had his boarding pass revoked. He refused to leave the plane. How is removing a trespasser on a plane
illegal?