Retired police chief helps subdue passenger after alleged midair outburst over alcohol cutoff

Retired Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara found himself back in crisis mode Thursday, not on the streets of the Mill City, but 35,000 feet in the air, when what should have been a routine United Airlines flight suddenly turned chaotic.O'Hara told Fox News Digital he watched flight attendants spend nearly 45 minutes trying to de-escalate an increasingly belligerent passenger before the situation escalated, prompting him and two off-duty Bergen County, New Jersey, sheriff's deputies to intervene.The retired police chief, who was traveling with his wife aboard United Flight 1364 from Newark to Fort Lauderdale, said the passenger repeatedly berated flight attendants, tried to get out of his seat and behaved erratically as crew members worked to keep the situation under control.FRONTIER PASSENGERS TACKLE MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY CHOKED OFF-DUTY FLIGHT ATTENDANT, TRIED TO OPEN DOOR MID-FLIGHTLaw enforcement officers escort an unruly passenger off a United Airlines flight after retired Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara and two off-duty Bergen County sheriff's deputies helped restrain the man following a midair disturbance.(Wafiyyah O'Hara)"About like for the last 45 minutes of the flight ...

all the flight attendants came over and they were incredible," O'Hara told Fox News Digital."Incredibly professional, just trying to talk to this guy to de-escalate things."According to O'Hara, the passenger became increasingly agitated after flight attendants refused to serve him more alcohol, a detail he said he later learned from the Broward Sheriff's Office after the arrest.

The man reportedly continued shouting profanities and making threatening remarks before the encounter turned physical."It was infuriating to hear a man speak to these women who were just incredibly professional and trying to keep everybody safe that way for so long," O'Hara said."And finally, he just kind of got up and lunged towards them."That's when two passengers seated near the back of the aircraft grab...