"You're not going to be kicking my seat all the way to Las Vegas"

[Liberal_in_LA]

Police: Woman on Southwest flight grabs boy who kicked her seat
Posted 4/9/2010 11:26 AM

Phoenix police are investigating an incident on a Southwest Airlines flight where a woman allegedly grabbed a child who was kicking the back of her seat in March.

James Holmes of the Phoenix Police Department said a mother is pressing charges against a 42-year-old woman who allegedly assaulted her 3-year-old boy while they were on Southwest flight 582 heading to Las Vegas at the gate of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Mar. 21 at about 7 p.m.

No arrests have been made because police are still gathering names of witnesses from Southwest Airlines, but the mother described the incident to police:

Her three-year-old son either kicked or put his feet up on the back of the woman's seat when she turned around and grabbed him. The woman told the child, "You're not going to be kicking my seat all the way to Las Vegas," while she shook him and then slammed him back on the seat, the mother told police.

She and other passengers began to argue with the woman after the incident, and both parties were taken off the plane to discuss the situation.

Staff had assured her that the woman would not be allowed back on the flight, and she returned to her seats with her children, Holmes said. The woman, however, did board the same plane again, and chose to sit in the same seat over other empty seats.

During the flight, the woman harassed the family and threw garbage at them. The mother told police that the woman appeared to be intoxicated.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-04-09-southwest-flight-seat-kick_N.htm?csp=outbrain&csp=obnetwork

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Have you ever sat in front of a kid who kicked your seat?

Not a fun experience.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Yep, I've experienced. Not fun.

[EFerrari]

4. But still a toss up with sitting by a drunk who throws garbage at your family.

LOL

The getaway flight from hell!

[name not needed]

8. Sounds like the last Mets game I went to.

[EFerrari]

37. At Candlestick, they used to throw seat cushions from the upper deck

if we were losing by the end of the 7th.

lol

[Touchdown]

41. At the LA Coliseum, they threw beer.

and below were healthy "Fuck Yous!" from underneath.

[JVS]

20. Sounds like a reasonable response.

[CreekDog]

13. a 3 year old

game over. :wtf:

[Gormy Cuss]

19. +1 n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Well I wouldn't assault him

But I sure as hell wouldn't put up with it either.

[CreekDog]

25. well, this thread was about someone who assaulted a 3 year old

the fact that she insisted on sitting in front of him again makes me think she's not credible.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. And if you actually read the story, her version is completely different

Who to believe?

[CreekDog]

34. the article doesn't dispute that the assaulting woman sat right next to the kid again

no way i'm not viewing her story with skepticism --and so should you.

furthermore, she assaulted a 3 year old.

maybe you think you are being fair, treating both stories as having equal credibility.

you're deluding yourself.

[proud2BlibKansan]

35. The mother claims she assaulted the kid but she claims she did not

I am going to withhold judgment until the investigation is complete. That seems more reasonable than crucifying this woman right now.

[csziggy]

48. Yeah, but you don't grab the kid - you talk to the parent or ask for a change in seat

And you don't act like an idiot and throw trash or harass the family after electing to sit in front of them when given an alternative.

[Patsy Stone]

2. Okay, that reaction was way too extreme...

But I feel her pain. I do.

[Touchdown]

Monster! I have no kids, and little patience

but even I know that it's easier to get a toddler to do what you want if you make a game out of it.

"Try not to kick my seat and when we land, if your Mom lets me, I'll get you a candy bar." I'd rather spend a dollar on a strange kid than be pissed off for 2 hours.

[Initech]

5. How did I guess Southwest Airlines was involved?

[Bluebear]

6. How were they "involved"?

[Touchdown]

10. It attracts 'em, doesn't it?

:rofl:

[Initech]

30. Yup, Just ask good ol' Silent Bob!

:rofl:

[petronius]

7. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is gonna be good...

:popcorn:

Of course, there's nowhere near enough info for an informed opinion, but I predict 300+ posts, minus ~100 deleted messages... :)

[Bonobo]

9. LOL! nt

[HuckleB]

14. Yup.

:beer:

[L0oniX]

53. Don't bogart that popcorn. n/t

[HipChick]

11. The woman is apparently an attorney, and I don't believe the mothers acct

It's really hard to grab a buckled up infant from the front, and bodyslam him into a seat - unless you are seated behind them on a plane..either she has long alien arms to be able to reach back there and grab 30lb of little human..The crew would have called the cops if there was an actual assault, not let her get back on the plane..period..

[xultar]

17. Exactluy what I was thinking. And I swear if anyone grabbed my child

They wouldn't get a chance to do what she is saying the woman did.

I don't buy the mother's story one bit about the body slam or thew the child back into the seat.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. If anyone grabbed my child I would be the one being arrested

Just sayin . . .

[Blue-Jay]

12. Obviously, she's never flown to Orlando.

[Touchdown]

18. That's easy too! National Treasure (any Disney) on a laptop.

the 10 year old next to me behaved and was nice the whole 3 hour trip. Even after the movie.

[Sebastian Doyle]

15. Ah yes, the long torturous flight from Phoenix to Vegas.

Shit, are you kidding me? Does the plane even have time to get all the way up in the air on that flight?

[HuckleB]

22. +1

And the consistently rough air on that flight is probably the biggest issue any passenger faces.

[Touchdown]

23. Yeah, but this one had a layover in Frankfurt.

:hide:

[krabigirl]

46. Seriously...i hope she gets the book thrown at her. Freak.

[HipChick]

16. Another report, woman denies assault

http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/central/story/Case-of-assault-on-Southwest-flight-sent-to/oegTncunrkSMMIwjwPX3FQ.cspx

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Interesting

"The mother was asked to control her child, and the mother haughtily snarled back, 'you can't talk to him like that,' instead of asking little Johnny to stop repeatedly and forcefully kicking the back of the chair. Foster has neck issues since being rear-ended by a vehicle, and it was appropriate for her to ask the parent that the assaulting behavior, which could cause pain and/or headaches, be ceased. The mother has a duty to supervise the acts of her child on an airplane, and should have stopped the offensive touching without permission on her own initiative without being prompted."

[TexasObserver]

26. Why did they let this nut get back onto the airplane?

That was a mistake.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Maybe she wasn't such a nut?

:shrug:

[TexasObserver]

40. Unless the report is false from start to finish, she's a raging drunk.

Having seen such airborne buffoons before, I know they exist. Some adults can't get it through their head that handling the children of others is not permissible. Perhaps the excessive drinking is the problem. Booze and idiocy are often fellow travelers.

I see nothing in the story to suggest she's anything but unreasonable. It suggests she was an aggressive, assaultive, noisy, misbehaving drunk.

[proud2BlibKansan]

That's according to the mom

And she may be a bit biased. :)

[TexasObserver]

49. The story as told has the ring of truth.

Little kids kick the back of airplane seats. The proper response is to buzz the flight attendant, tell them, and ask that it be stopped or that person behind be moved. It isn't to confront the parent or the child and demand that the child stop.

We'll see how the story comes out. An assault charge in Phoenix might be just what this woman requires to get the help she needs for her lack of impulse control or her raging.

Everything described is a consistent, highly believable story.

[DesertRat]

28. "The woman appeared to be intoxicated"

[Touchdown]

32. And she also appeared to be a floozy with bad make up

and drives a pick up truck! Some people say she is a smoker and her husband is a Joo!:rofl:

The drunk card. One play too many.

[Dappleganger]

31. Our daughter and my husband flew home from NJ this morning.

On their 2nd half of their flight a little girl (toddler) kept crying and crying in a high-shrieking voice. The dad kept trying to calm her down. Finally he told her to 'Shut up!' pretty loudly, and my daughter said she also heard him say 'Little bitch' under his breath (they were directly in front of them). My husband said he wanted to throttle the dad but he was afraid of pushing him to become even more upset and direct that towards the little girl.

Pretty much everyone around them was upset w/the noise, though. It gets pretty exasperating on a plane where you have nowhere to hide, even with earphones.

[HuckleB]

33. This article is from early April.

:shrug:

[Touchdown]

38. Question: Is a 3 year old's legs even long enough to reach the seatback?

If he was strapped in, he should be sitting way back.If he was just climbing into his seat, then the ruckus is only temporary, and he'll calm down. :shrug:

[HuckleB]

39. If he was in a car seat, he probably could have reached it.

Hmm. On edit, I suppose that would also put him much closer to her, making the supposed assault more of a possibility.

Ah, this whole thing just reminds me too much of what I despised about living in AZ.

[SocialistLez]

42. I would have just talked to the mom. This is coming from someone who does NOT like most kids. NT

[taterguy]

43. Sounds like someone forgot to bring Benadryl

Sigh.

[krabigirl]

44. Holy crap...what a freak. Sorry, when you ride the greyhound in the sky, you get what you get.

I've had a seat kicked all the way to London. Oh, and i am sooooo looking forward to taking the kids to see their grandparents in france this summer. I am always correcting their behavior but i am sure it won't be good enough for some people. If some freak did this to my kid, there would be hell to pay.

[WeDidIt]

45. Seems both parties have a problem, tough assaulting a 3 year old is worse

than being the parent of said three year old and being incapable of constraining the child.

Both should have been thrown off and neither allowed back on. The drunk woman should also be charged with child abuse.

[GoneOffShore]

47. This is why I always carry gin and duct tape when I fly.

[petronius]

51. Two ingredients that will fix any problem imaginable (although my emergency kit

leans more toward whiskey...) :)

[liberalmuse]

50. Middle Aged Crazy and Terrible Three's...

NOT a good mix. I'd like to hear both sides of the story because I'm guessing the media picked the most sensationlist versions to write about. Still - no reason to assault a 3 year old. I'd assault the parent (I'm joking!). Parents do need to mind their kids and teach them to behave or they will grow up to become like that lady. I used to live in Salt Lake and that place is crawling with kids. I really like kids, but not dozens of ill-behaved munchkins from the same family running amok every where you try to shop.

[Touchdown]

52. This happens Every time venever I go shopping Dahling!

[HuckleB]

54. I'd like to hear from some of the other passengers.

[ecstatic]

55. Why didn't the mom stop the kid before it got to that point?