CHICAGO _ A Chicago aviation security officer fired after forcibly removing a passenger from a United Airlines flight last year is suing the airline and his former employer, according to court documents.
James Long, a former security officer for the Chicago Department of Aviation, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the department, its commissioner, Ginger Evans, and United for a broad range of claims related to his firing.
On April 9, 2017, aviation security officers, including Long, were called to a United flight for a passenger who refused to give up his seat. The responding officers approached the passenger, Dr. David Dao, and tried to persuade him to leave calmly, after which Dao told them, "I'm not leaving this flight that I paid money for. I don't care if I get arrested," according to the lawsuit.
Video taken by other passengers showed Long dragging Dao from the plane. Dao's mouth was bloodied from hitting his head on an armrest during the altercation, according to court documents.
Long and three other aviation security officers were placed on administrative leave pending the conclusion of a disciplinary investigation. In August, Long was fired, the complaint says.
The lawsuit blames the department, Evans and United for Long losing his job, wages and benefits following the incident.
In Tuesday's lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Long asserts that United should have known calling in the security officers would "require the use of physical force." Long completed five months of police recruit training program, but the lawsuit says the Department of Aviation didn't provide training on the "level of force continuum."
"But for the CDA's negligence and failure to train (Long) how to respond to an escalating situation with an Airline Passenger, (he) would not have acted in the manner he did, which resulted in his termination," the lawsuit says.
The suit also alleges Evans defamed Long. The lawsuit mentions social media posts and statements to news outlets in which Evans condemned the actions of security officers as "completely inappropriate" and added the department does not "arm security staff for good reasons."
The CDA and Evans "acted with malice and with the intention to harm, and recklessly disregarded (Long's) rights and the consequences that may result to him by failing to investigation the truth of Defendant Evans's (sic) oral and written statements about Long," the complaint says.
Long is seeking damages because of his termination including back pay and payments to his 401(k) retirement plan.
