There is a rather bizarre case involving a 20-year-old man, Deshon Marman, who entered a plane wearing baggy pants and failed to pull up his pants fast enough for a US Airways pilot who had him arrested at San Francisco International Airport.
Marman is described as a football star at University of New Mexico who was traveling to a friend’s funeral.
He reportedly said that he first refused a demand to pull up his pants upon entering the plane because his hands were full but did ultimately pull up his pants when he reached his seat.
If so, it was not fast enough for the pilot who ordered the plane evacuated and performed a “citizen arrest.”
He was charged with trespassing, battery and resisting arrest.
Notably, there is no published dress code for US Airways and it is not clear how any arrest could be made for baggy pants. This has been a long controversy over efforts to criminalize baggy pants. The trespass charge would appear based on the theory that the pilot wanted him to leave and he did not leave fast enough. There is no explanation of the battery charge. He could not have been a threat since we have seen how baggy pants frustrate crime.
Police admit that he was not threatening anyone. Spokesman Sgt. Michael Rodriguez stated “[h]e was not threatening anybody directly, but being on board an aircraft and being disruptive to the aircraft crew interferes with their duties and that could be a safety factor.”
Police are now also holding Marman on an outstanding warrant on possession of marijuana.
I personally find this style perfectly moronic, but I fail to see the grounds for such an arrest unless the person is being charged with public exposure.
Source: NBC
Ahaa, its pleasant conversation regarding this post here at this blog, I have read all that,
so now me also commenting at this place.
Correction to my post. The jury awarded the money to the MUGGER, NOT the cabbie.
I knew the DA in San Mateo would dismiss the charges. THAT is why I said the captain should have gone to the US attorney to file charges against the kid. If I were US Airways, I would settle unless they can file charges with the Feds or get another suit filed against the kid in New Mexico.
The juries and judges in CA view any company as a gold mine to be mined for money. Hell they even awarded tens of thousands of dollars to a cabbie who stopped a mugger who got his leg broken by the cabbie when he used his cab to stop him as he ran away! I could not believe that. You can be sued by a burglar too if he gets injured as he steals your possessions. THAT is why I am glad that I don’t live in CA any more.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/07/saggy-pants-athlete-plans-sue-us-airways
An update.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20079260-504083.html
“The only thing a captain could do at the gate is order the pax off plane”
Arthur,
As someone who is often an airline passenger, I don’t think you get how disturbing being constantly referred to as “pax” can be. I worked professionally with people for 37 years and in my field we never degraded the people we served with nicknames that diminished their individuality and humanity.
I seriously doubt the authenticity of such a video. The only thing a captain could do at the gate is order the pax off plane and he sure as hell could not have him arrested for anything.
The whole reason the kid was arrested was that he did not come off the plane as the captain told him. Had he complied, he probably would have been let back on and nothing further would have been done. I had a similar situation in which another pax had told a flight attendant she thought that a young man was acting suspiciously. I was told of the concerns, and I called TSA for a secondary screening of the young man and his carry on bags. I went to him and asked him to come off the plane with his carry ons, and told him we needed to do a secondary screening of him. He complied, did the screening, found nothing, and he came back on board. In this case he was white. The same thing would have been done if he were black, brown, etc..,If he had refused, or hollered RACISM and refused to come off, I would have done the same as the captain in this instance. The FACT is that I had NO reason that he knew of to demand such a thing. He had NO right to refuse either.
The fact is that it was not a question of dress, but one of following lawful orders.
In next weeks news today, video of a captain demanding a PAX re tie his shoes over and over and over again until it meets his “safety standards” has surfaced. Ultimately the PAX gets so tired of it that he refuses to comply further and is promptly arrested.
The claim that this young man’s slightly oversized pants constitutes a serious safety concern i find troubling
can anyone honestly imagine a girl in heals, or a larger man, or perhaps someone who has lost some weight and lost there belt being subjected to a similar degree of scrutiny.
The fact that a man no more than a week ago in somewhat revealing female clothing had no trouble combined with my previous point leads me to conclude this had more to do with a young black male whose fashion has been causing people to react in a way I can only describe as “silly” if not idiotic for about the last 15 years as far as I can remember.
I would not be surprised to learn of older examples
Mike, that was a WordPress fart. You have to be careful to click submit only once. I think that has happened to almost everyone here.
Ooops!
“the old man was just as crusty as he was when younger, but he was still gentle and compassionate”
OS,
You could see that in his eyes from films of his work, or his lecturing. However, the ability of “disciples” (most especially many who go into psychotherapy-I know I’ve trained some) to distort his message in light of their own unresolved problems, is great..
“As I grow older, I too find I am less tolerant of those who waste my time or blow smoke.”
Me too. As Fritz put it they are “poisonous” personalities that drain your energy. By the way in the same vein I’m also a fan of Berne, especially since in reading his book I realized that my compassionate nature often cast me into the victim’s role in the: “Yes….But” game. I always thought that many sought my advice for my wisdom, who knew I was merely a patsy to be proven to be unable to help someone, who took pleasure in my failure and resultant frustration.
As to Dr. Rosenhan, you know and have known some pretty cool people.
HIPAA is a joke, but the real harm is to the patients who don’t believe they can improve their lot, because they’ve bought into their diagnosis. BTW, of course you’ve noticed how through the years the “in” diagnosis have changed. When I was in training “everyone” was Borderline. At the point I retired it was “Bi-Polar.” It will take perceptive men to see beyond this straight jacketing of patients and move the field beyond these constraints.