London’s Metropolitan Police arrested a 39-year-old deputy U.S. Marshal on Wednesday morning at Heathrow Airport for appearing inappropriately whereas intoxicated on a flight from New York, based on the U.S. Marshals Service.
The police in London mentioned they obtained 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 conduct whereas in flight, Delta Flight 1, J.F.Okay. to London-Heathrow, was met by native legislation enforcement upon touchdown, and Delta is cooperating with their investigation,” however declined to present extra data.
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 america.
The Marshals Service’s duties embody apprehending federal fugitives, housing and transporting federal prisoners, and working the Witness Safety Program.
“The U.S. Marshals Service takes critically any allegations of misconduct by its staff,” the company mentioned in an announcement. “The alleged actions of the workers don’t replicate the professionalism of the hundreds of staff of the united statesM.S. or its core values.”
Airways noticed a rise in unruly conduct on flights in the course of the pandemic, although lots of these centered on masks insurance policies. The variety of disruptive midair episodes peaked in 2021, based on the Federal Aviation Administration, with nearly 6,000 incidents — a 492 p.c enhance from the prior yr. Shaky cellphone footage of brawls and insults on planes turned a staple on social media.
The numbers dipped in 2022 after mask mandates ended, with a complete of two,455 recorded incidents. In 2023 the numbers have dropped once more, with 1,931 incidents up to now, based on the F.A.A.