London’s Metropolitan Police arrested a 39-year-old deputy U.S. Marshal on Wednesday morning at Heathrow Airport for performing inappropriately whereas intoxicated on a flight from New York, in accordance with the U.S. Marshals Service.
The police in London mentioned they acquired experiences round 6:30 a.m. native time from the employees on an inbound Delta flight “{that a} passenger was disruptive and had sexually assaulted different passengers and crew.”
The police mentioned he was taken into custody, the place he remained as of Thursday morning as an investigation continues.
Delta mentioned that due to “unruly passenger habits whereas in flight, Delta Flight 1, J.F.Ok. to London-Heathrow, was met by native regulation enforcement upon touchdown, and Delta is cooperating with their investigation,” however declined to offer extra info.
The person was one in all two marshals on the flight touring to London, the Marshals Service mentioned. The second marshal was briefly detained however has since returned to the US.
The Marshals Service’s duties embrace apprehending federal fugitives, housing and transporting federal prisoners, and working the Witness Safety Program.
“The U.S. Marshals Service takes severely any allegations of misconduct by its workers,” the company mentioned in an announcement. “The alleged actions of the workers don’t mirror the professionalism of the 1000’s of workers of the usM.S. or its core values.”
Airways noticed a rise in unruly habits on flights in the course of the pandemic, although a lot of these centered on masks insurance policies. The variety of disruptive midair episodes peaked in 2021, in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration, with nearly 6,000 incidents — a 492 p.c enhance from the prior 12 months. Shaky cellphone footage of brawls and insults on planes turned a staple on social media.
The numbers dipped in 2022 after masks mandates ended, with a complete of two,455 recorded incidents. In 2023 the numbers have dropped once more, with 1,931 incidents thus far, in accordance with the F.A.A.
