Terrell Davis, a Denver Broncos Hall of Famer, was detained by law authorities on a flight, prompting the lawyer representing Davis to file a complaint against United Airlines, according to Davis’s office. He also unveiled fresh footage from the event.
A flight attendant stopped by the section of the United aircraft that the former NFL star running back and his family were seated in earlier this month. Davis claims the attendant ignored his son’s request for a cup of ice. When Davis touched the flight attendant on the shoulder, the attendant abruptly said, “Don’t hit me,” and walked away to a different area of the aircraft. The captain announced that everyone should stay seated after the plane touched down. Subsequently, FBI officers boarded the aircraft, handcuffed Davis, and removed him for interrogation.
A few days after what he describes as an unpleasant and shocking occurrence, Davis told CBS Mornings in an interview, “The agent came up to me, and he bends over and whispers, ‘Don’t fight it,’ and he put the cuffs on me.” He claims he couldn’t believe the shoulder-tapping could have resulted in him being taken into custody by federal agents.
According to the FBI, Davis was released off the plane when they removed him and verified he had done nothing wrong, as CBS Colorado reported.
New footage of Davis being detained and removed from the aircraft was released on Tuesday by the legal team of Parker Stinar. The individual approaching Davis is shown in the footage wearing an FBI jacket, while flight crew members are mutely observing from close to the cockpit.
On the footage, Tamiko Davis, Davis’s wife, is seen getting to her feet and speaking briefly with both the agent and Davis. Tamiko, who appeared with her husband on CBS Mornings, stated that initially she felt the incident might be a practical joke. Both parents claim that seeing it happen in front of their kids was distressing, and she and her husband make a concerted effort to protect their kids from such circumstances.
Tamiko remarked, “As a mother, as a Black mother raising two Black sons, you fight really hard to not have those types of situations.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, Stinar—who also featured with Davis in his CBS interview—said that the lawsuit is being brought to hold United Airlines accountable for the “systemic failings that culminated in this tragic occurrence.” His full remarks are as follows:
The terrifying story of several law enforcement officers, including the FBI, entering the aircraft and taking down a stunned, scared, humiliated, and obedient Mr. Davis in front of his wife Tamiko, small children, and over a hundred passengers is corroborated by this footage. There is much more to the reasoning behind the dishonest or false report from the United Airlines employee than just an innocent shoulder tap or ice request. This is the reason we are going to file a lawsuit: only by going to court can we get the truth and hold United Airlines accountable for the systemic flaws that led to this horrific event, which left the Davis family with irreversible damage and unending pain.
United has expressed regret for the incident and stated that the flight attendant has been removed from rotation while the situation is being looked into.
