Shail Patel (left) standing up on the plane, (center) in a Hillsborough County jail mug shot, (right) Patel in a headlock (images of plane incident via Twitter/@RokerGlasses)
At least these “motherf——” were real.
An allegedly intoxicated American Airlines passenger who belligerently spewed antisemitic slurs, called other passengers “motherf——,” “blue eyed white devils,” and even said “I’m gonna take this plane down,” had to be placed in a headlock to get him off of the plane, videos of the incident show.
A probable cause affidavit from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office obtained by Law&Crime detailed that the alleged offense took place Tuesday evening at Tampa International Airport and that Shail Nitin Patel, 29, was identified as the suspect. Patel never made it to Philadelphia, Pa., as he was swiftly arrested in Florida.
The three charges he faces are each misdemeanors — two for first-degree misdemeanor battery and one for “disorderly intoxication,” a second-degree misdemeanor offense.
“(1) No person in the state shall be intoxicated and endanger the safety of another person or property, and no person in the state shall be intoxicated or drink any alcoholic beverage in a public place or in or upon any public conveyance and cause a public disturbance,” Florida law states.
Judging by the video footage of the incident, which was recorded in three parts and promptly went viral on social media, Patel has an uphill battle when it comes to arguing that this wasn’t an alcohol-fueled public disturbance.
According to the affidavit, Patel, identified by his California license, “boarded his flight and began acting erratically yelling and cursing at the passengers” and the flight attendants on the plane.
Court documents said that Patel shouted “f— you blue eyed white devils I’m gonna take this plane down with all you mother f—— on it,” hit a victim’s hand and face “with an open hand,” and spat on the victim, explaining the battery charges.
While the affidavit did not address the repeated use of “k–e,” an antisemitic slur uttered on the video footage, authorities did say that Patel was “slurring his speech, had blood shot eyes and a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emitting form his breath.”
Eventually, as the recorded headlock showed and as the affidavit reiterated, passengers had enough of the defendant’s freakout.
“The defendant was detained by passengers on the aircraft in the jet bridge before being handcuffed and placed under arrest,” the affidavit said.
When the suspect said “I have a ticket,” a passenger who identified himself as a police officer put the suspect in the headlock and loudly commanded him to stop.
“Now put your hands down and don’t touch anybody!” the man said, repeatedly shouting: “Walk! Walk! Turn around and walk!”
Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Patel was appointed a public defender on Wednesday and ordered not to contact the victim in the case.
Read the affidavit here.
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