United Airlines passenger David Dao was violent before removal, aviation police say

Newly released police reports say David Dao, the Kentucky doctor who was violently removed from his seat on a United Airlines plane, was flailing his arms and verbally abusive toward officers before he lost his balance and struck his face on an armrest.

The reports from Chicago’s aviation police, released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Los Angeles Times and other news organizations, appear to contradict videos of the April 9 incident taken by passengers and widely circulated on social media and in news reports.

The incident, which sparked worldwide furor and led to several apologies from United CEO Oscar Munoz and a promise to overhaul overbooking procedures, began when Dao refused to give up his seat after the airline decided to eject four people from the aircraft so that crew members could fly to Louisville in order to staff another flight.

In his report, Officer James Long alleged that during the attempt to pull Dao from his seat, he knocked Long’s arm, “which caused the subject to fall, hit, and injured his mouth on the armrest on the other side of the aisle.”

Another one of the four officers, Steven Smith, wrote that his “statement is not being given voluntary (sic), but under duress. I am only giving this stament (sic) at this time because I know that I could lose my job if I refuse the direct order being given to me.”

Another officer, Mauricio Rodriguez Jr., wrote a similar introduction to his report, in which he said that Officer Long “assisted the subject by using minimal but neccesary (sic) force to remove the subject.”

The report from the fourth officer, Sgt. John Moore, appeared to show that Moore arrived on the scene later. The officers were later put on administrative leave.

Thomas Demetrio, the Chicago personal-injury lawyer representing Dao, told the Times that the reports were “utter nonsense."

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On Monday, Demetrio  told the Today show that he will be filing a lawsuit against United. “He’s hurt,” he said of Dao. “He’s of the mindset this is an example ... of why we need fairness, dignity and being treated right.”

The interview was the first public statement Demetrio has made since an April 13 news conference that included Crystal Pepper, one of Dao’s five children. Dao suffered a concussion, a broken nose, lost two front teeth and needs facial reconstruction, the attorney said.