After allegedly bit one police officer and wounded six others. The niece of former New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie was removed from a recent Spirit Airlines flight in New Orleans.
According to Jason Rivarde, a spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Shannon Epstein allegedly asked a Hispanic family on board whether they were “smuggling cocaine” before the Thanksgiving morning trip to New Jersey took off.
Airline staff reportedly asked Epstein to leave the aircraft when she became increasingly angry. The plane, which had already departed the gate, reportedly returned before taking off.
As Epstein apparently grew increasingly angry and resisted leaving, deputies arrived on the scene. When Christie‘s niece allegedly went aggressive and hurt six deputies, authorities were then getting ready to arrest her. According to reports, Epstein bit one officer and kicked another in the groin.
According to NOLA.com, Epstein was accused of resisting arrest, three counts of disturbing the peace, and six counts of violence. And in order to remove Epstein from the aircraft, law enforcement ultimately handcuffed her to a wheelchair.
On January 23, 2023, she is expected to return to Jefferson Parish for court. After posting a $10,750 bail, Epstein was released on the same day the alleged incident took place.
Christie, a Republican candidate for president in 2016, has not responded to the reported altercation. Meanwhile, as of right now, Spirit Airlines has made no statement.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded 1,099 occurrences of rowdy passengers in 2021, while the number is now down to 767 so far in 2022. As over the past two years, there have been an increasing number of events involving rowdy passengers, many of which are related to the COVID regulations’ mask-wearing requirements on airplanes.
Although the concept hasn’t advanced, the Aviation Agency president Bryan Del Monte stated last year that he supports Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian‘s call for a national “no-fly” list for rowdy passengers. Delta claims to have boosted self-defense instruction for flight attendants and other front-line staff. Bastian also claimed that just for mask-related concerns, Delta has expelled at least 1,900 people.
Sources: Dailywire, NYpost, Nola
