Colombian officers attacked by drunk passengers on Avianca flight
5:33 AM EDT, June 25, 2024
Colombian police officer Carlos Quiñones was hit by a drunk airline passenger. The officer was called to remove the attacker and his brother from an Avianca plane in Colombia.
The two brothers attacked the police officers on board the Avianca plane in Colombia. According to the “Daily Mail” website, the incident took place when the suspects were asked to leave the plane at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota due to their inappropriate behavior. The National Colombian Police have withheld the names of the suspects as part of an ongoing investigation.
In the video, one of the men can be seen arguing with Officer Quiñones, saying that he “does not intend to leave this place” and using offensive language referring to people with dark skin.
The attacker's brother initially placed his hand on Quiñones’s chest and said, “Do not treat him badly.” Then one of the men stepped forward and hit Officer Quiñones in the face. His police partner quickly intervened, arresting the attacker and escorting him off the plane.
Attack on police officers on the plane
The attacker’s brother tried to prevent the assaulted officer from leaving the plane, which caused the conflict to escalate. A scuffle ensued.
The police strongly condemn incidents where officers are physically and verbally attacked on board a plane at El Dorado Airport, said Lieutenant Colonel Wilson Torres, who heads the police station at this airport.
He also added that the police have the right to call on passengers to leave the plane by Colombian aviation regulations. “When they become aggressive towards the police, attacking them physically and verbally, the police initiate criminal proceedings for violence against a public official,” Wilson Torres emphasized.
Both men were arrested on charges of assaulting a public official. According to the “Daily Mail,” a judge allowed them to be released on bail, charging them with intentionally causing bodily injury. Assaulting a public official carries a penalty of four to eight years in prison.
