The Chicago Department of Aviation fired two of the four security officers involved in an incident in which a Kentucky physician was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight, according to a report from the City of Chicago Office of the Inspector General.
According to the report, released Oct. 15, an OIG investigation into the incident concluded three CDA Aviation Security Officers and one Aviation Security Sergeant violated city of Chicago personnel rules during an incident in which passenger David Dao, MD, a pulmonologist from Elizabethtown, Ky., was forcibly removed from an overbooked United Airlines Express Flight 3411 in April. The "use of excessive force caused [Dr. Dao] to hit his face on an armrest, resulting in the passenger sustaining a concussion, a broken nose and the loss of two teeth," the OIG report states.
The agency's investigation revealed the first ASO "violated the CDA Use of Force Policy" when the officer "escalated a non-threatening situation into a physically violent one by forcefully removing a passenger from the aircraft," according to the report.
The investigation also revealed the second and third ASOs made misleading statements in two reports and made material omissions in one report, respectively. The Aviation Security Sergeant involved in the incident "deliberately removed material facts from the third ASO's [report] … and approved reports without all essential information," OIG investigators concluded.
The OIG reportedly informed the CDA of its findings and recommended the agency implement disciplinary actions against all four individuals.
In response to the OIG, the CDA said it would discharge the first ASO and the sergeant involved in the incident. The CDA also issued five-day suspensions to the second and third ASOs. However, the second ASO's suspension was commuted to two days and the third ASO resigned, according to the report.
The first and second ASOs and the sergeant have all "[grieved] their discharge," the report states. Arbitration dates for the first ASO and the sergeant have not yet been scheduled.
To read the OIG report, click here.