A Black social worker has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, claiming that flight attendants accused her of kidnapping a White child she was escorting to Southern California.
Black Woman Accused Of Kidnapping White Toddler On American Airlines Files Lawsuit
Shannon Murphy is a social worker for Riverside County in Southern California’s Inland Empire. Last October, she was escorting a toddler from Arkansas to Ontario, California via Dallas-Fort Worth. The young boy was visiting his father under court order and Murphy was tasked to bring him home.
While at DFW, a passenger told two flight attendants that she suspected Murphy had kidnapped the baby. The passenger referenced a kidnapping that had been in the news, though that kidnapping had taken place in New York and been of a Hispanic child who was older. This child had pale skin and blonde hair.
“I just didn’t know what to do. I was scared.”
Flight attendants asked Murphy to exit the aircraft and took the baby from her, demanding she produce proof she had a right to transport him. Even though Murphy produced a court order for the trip, her work ID, and the child’s birth certificate, they still forced her off the aircraft.
Murphy told Business Insider:
“During this time, the baby was reaching for me and crying. One of the flight attendants had grabbed the bottle out of my bag to give the baby, but I said not to. It was my last bottle.
“Everything just started upsetting me then because we get these kids, and we take them where they’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to provide safety for these children because they’re ours when we have them. I just didn’t know what to do. I was scared.”
Eventually, Murphy was let back onboard and the aircraft took off for Ontario.
Her lawsuit claims civil rights violations, false imprisonment, and negligence. She is now seeking compensation for medical expenses as well as punitive damages.
An American Airlines spokesperson said:
“We are reviewing the lawsuit and the details of the flight. We take the safety and comfort of our customers very seriously and we’re committed to providing a positive experience for everyone who travels with us.”
CONCLUSION
This was undoubtedly a traumatic incident for Murphy. To be accused of kidnapping on the basis of your skin color (why else would such an allegation be made, whether there was a kidnapping in the news or not?) is deeply dismaying. And like the Black doctors onboard whose credentials are doubted, so to the “better safe than sorry” approach rings hollow here, or at least incomplete. But Murphy’s story is now being heard. Hopefully future inquires will be handled more tenderly.
This incident was resolved so quickly that she didn’t have to take a later flight.
If she wins money, the money should go to her employer. After all, if she does wrong, you sue her employer not her personally.
What if the story was “kid kidnapped, AA alerted, did nothing, kid’s body found in ditch, raped and murdered”?
If she gets money, I should get money for when AA challenged my carry on bag but it was found to fit inside the sizer.
Hence you support racial profiling.
Ms Karen comparing kidnapping to fitting carryons into a sizer.
Better than your support of kidnapping as long as the suspect is Black. Hence you support terrorism.
The situation was resolved in time for the flight to depart. That’s good. The woman didn’t get her neck stepped on. That’s good. The woman didn’t grab the officer’s Taser and fire it at him/her.
Kidnapping of a kid is a very serious matter. Often there are 2 results. The kid dead or the kid missing for 25 years and thinking that his/her kidnapper is his/her Mom.
And stop smearing the names of millions of Karens in America. How would you like it if the name Pete were to be hijacked and now meant rapist?
The flight attendants had no right to ask the woman to exit the plane and had no right to check her papers and ID. They should have brought it to the Captains attention who would had contacted company operations or the gate agent who would had contacted the airport police to investigate. The flight attendants’ role would have been minimized because it was the passenger that prompted the call to police from the crew.
That’s just being lazy and passing the buck. The optimal response is that the FA asked, the passenger cooperated, and end of story. Having the FA say Obama’s famous line “that’s not within my pay grade” is as dumb as when Obama said it, though Obama gets a pass because he was trying to crack a joke, albeit bad joke.
Why did u capitalize “White” Matthew? Only Black should b capitalized. Check the style guide! U a racist.
It’s all or nothing Kashelle.
Are you made of spandex? I only ask as youre stretching so much
Unless this woman can prove that the act of the AA agent(s) or the incident causes her to lose money, lose business,… then the “punitive damages” claim probably will be dismissed. In addition, the flight attendants asked her to leave to not disturb other passengers, but she was not locked up. Therefore, suing that she was “imprisonment” is not merit. The flight attendants, security personnels,… have the right to question in this case. Her lawsuit will be dismissed in court, in my opinion. However, I am not an attorney so please elaborate. Thank you all.
It’s very unfortunate that this happened. Folks are always told to remain vigilant for things that “don’t seem right” as sex trafficking is so common these days. While her race did play a role in this, I doubt it’s a racial issue or civil rights violation. The same thing would have happened if it was a white male social worker and black female child.
Why wouldn’t her ID, paperwork, and court order be enough? Why was that doubted?
I agree, once she showed her ID, court order, etc, it should have ended. It’s after that that AA turned this into racial profiling. That is likely the basis of her lawsuit.
It wasn’t doubted. She made her flight.
The fact that AA would prefer to review this matter in the gate area instead of in the aisle of the economy cabin does not indicate racism.
And this may be the case @Andy K. If so, fine…I guess. But taking the baby from her and then trying to feed him seems wildly inappropriate.
“Why wouldn’t her ID, paperwork, and court order be enough? Why was that doubted?”
Answer: I don’t know.
Could be several reasons. You’re an attorney. There’s a presumption of innocence in the law even in civil cases.
A few guesses on my part: Would someone engaging in sex trafficking or kidnapping be able to forge documents? Did the documents appear suspicious? Did the agents perhaps want to call and verify the documents?
Another possibility (plenty of them out there off the top of my head, and I’m a pro-per layman): Possibly the gate agent wasn’t familiar with how these documents look at all and needed time to understand.
At AA employees are given special training to profile and take aggressive action to curtail child trafficking. The F/A’s were following company procedures. Child traffic is a huge problem as proven by the insurance policy on Weiners’s laptop. Imagine the damage to the child if it was being trafficked. Is it not worth a little inconvenience to safeguard innocent life? AA has 500 full time lawyers on staff. They don’t settle anything. Nice using the race card.
Is it it really so odd that a black woman travels with a white child?
It is. 99% of kids travel with their parents. Mixed race is odd in itself but it is clear what it is. A black lady traveling on an airplane with a white baby is very odd and unusual. Why would parents let their little kid on an airplane without them in the first place? That question pops up.
OK “Kashelle”
@Matthew: it is not odd but it calls attention. Don’t get me wrong, I am not targeting her but if it was a white woman carrying a non white baby, etc… You usually see if the kid is biracial but when it is very different people will notice no matter what combination of race it is because it is evident it is not mother and son. Now, all airlines have been very vigilant on human trafficking so although not a good situation to be I would understand it. What I don’t get it is why they doubted her after seeing the documents? Why take the bottle from her? It would be much easier if in the US parents had to show birth certificate when traveling with minors. That would have been checked at the gate or check in and nobody would have to care afterwards.
Although this hasn’t come up on this forum before, it’s something I’ve raised in other forums: The concept of free national ID issued to all citizens.
The primary argument against voterID is disenfranchisement: That some people are so poor that they can’t afford the $40 in some states that require that fee for an ID (I found that most states have non-driver’s license ID’s for as little as $10). But let’s consider a national ID that waives the fee immediately and even better, biometric chip with a PIN so that it can be used to protect financial transactions such as applying for credit cards.
This would solve so many headaches in one fell swoop (or in PC parlance: Feed two birds with one scone)
1) Eliminate identity theft.
2) Secure the election system allowing remote, secure voting via card readers.
3) Provide ID for people to travel (which is relevant to this blog).
As an added bonus, I’d love to see the option for the card to be bound to credit card accounts, store loyalty cards, etc. and clear out our wallets.
Sure, let the states still issue Driver’s Licenses but they shouldn’t have been used for Identification purposes anyway. Let the states, like, say, taking the bar exam, administer their own requirements while negotiating with other states mutual privileges.
It’s insane that we still have our entire financial identities bound into a single 9 digit number, name and birthday. This worked in the 1930’s when this was supposed to be only for social security benefits and filing tax returns.
Ok, AA is given special training. Fine.
Then why was she allowed to board the plane with the child in Arkansas in the first place? Why didn’t AA’s amazingly trained staff say anything then?
Good point.
To be accused of kidnapping on the basis of skin color and race (they are two different things but linked) is perfectly valid. We live in a world where children are kidnapped. Biological parents are hounded when both parents are not traveling with a child. With kidnapping in the news, people will be more alert. A woman of one race holding a baby of a completely different race (not mixed) when flying is odd. This isn’t daycare. This is a flight.
The social worker showed her ID, court order, and the birth certificate. She was let back on the plane. The system worked. She should be more understanding since she is a social worker. I think her suing displays a lack of sensibility. I think she should be fired as a social worker for complaining that an airline was concerned about trafficking.
Isn’t it sad we live in a world where a baby is transported by a social worker to a parent from another parent. That’s offensive in itself.
“To be accused of kidnapping on the basis of skin color and race (they are two different things but linked) is perfectly valid.“
And you wonder why people think you are racist…
“The social worker showed her ID, court order, and the birth certificate. She was let back on the plane.”
Wrong. As per what Matthew wrote, she was removed from the plane AFTER she produced documents which supported her claim if being a social worker.
“Biological parents are hounded when both parents are not traveling with a child.”
Anything to back this claim up?
“As per what Matthew wrote, she was removed from the plane AFTER she produced documents which supported her claim if being a social worker.”
Matthew is citing another news source. It’s possible the context was lost. From the article linked:
“Murphy said she had paperwork with her, including her work ID, the child’s birth certificate, and a signed copy of the court order for the trip. She tried to show it to the airline employees on the plane, but they insisted she come with them, she said. They eventually checked the paperwork and said there had been a mistake, according to Murphy. ”
“Biological parents are hounded when both parents are not traveling with a child.”
“Anything to back this claim up?”
I was considering having my wife travel with our daughter alone when she came back from a vacation (I was going to leave early) and researched and read that I would need to create a notarized letter for her to do so. In addition, I read an account of a celebrity divorce where the actress had a different last name than the child so in the settlement, they changed the child’s middle name to match hers so the ID’s would “match.”
I don’t think the context was lost.
Also, anecdotal evidence doesn’t exactly prove your point.
The lay people in the thread keep talking about how AA is going to win. All the lawyers in the thread are wondering if the plaintiff’s attorney is going to get boat money or house money. The plaintiff gave them a court order. Judges take that shit personally. The next judge may disagree with every single line in a ruling, but you sure the hell better comply with it or you’ll be enjoying a lecture along with your contempt judgment.
Your reaction of being upset about a perfectly reasonable request for documentation based on their suspicion (she wasn’t “accused”) does not make you a victim. You were even still able to take the flight. If it was a white male transporting a black baby, it would look suspicious too, and he would probably get asked for documentation…it’s just that he wouldn’t get to sue.
They asked her for her documentation. She provided it. They still removed her from the plane.
Whether or not she still made the flight is irrelevant.
Again, the issue isn’t that she was asked for documentation. The issue is that it was ignored when she provided it.
Love how @WR2 complains that everyone is overreacting, but when his Dear Leader cries like a baby, he is to be supported.
That’s because feelings only matter if you’re a whiny white person. He’d probably love to run a boarding house for Karens.
The reporting passenger is the racist culprit here and should have been escorted off the plane and charged with obstruction to passenger and public safety along with the two employees.
The passenger should have never created a false accusation by telling two flight attendants that she suspected Murphy had kidnapped a baby.
The flight attendants in this situation should have been fired or severely disciplined for not following the proper protocol without alerting the captain. Since there was no evidence of foul play or any signs of a kidnapping, the allegations were unwarranted and unfounded.
The passenger assumed in their own minds to reference an kidnapping that had been in the news and wanted to be a hero to report an injustice situation to an unrelated kidnapping that took place in New York. Since that incident involved a Hispanic child who was older, the escorted child had pale skin and blonde hair.
The reporting racist passengers only saw a black woman caring for a white child, an improper view of being a racist individual.
What would the reporting passenger think if that child was adopted by the black woman or perhaps she was the natural mother of that white child? Hmmm!!!!
Is it possible the other side of the coin provides following narrative?
Passenger: that look suspicious. Better report it than feel sorry.
FA: thank you for your report. We shall follow up.
FA: excuse us, is that your kid or relatives?
Shannon: no, i’m social worker. Escorting this kid on court order.
FA: (thinking: that’s uncommon. Maybe we should confirm just to be sure) can we see the credentials mam?
Shannon: here you go…
FA: (damned! I don’t know what are these papers about. Should call higher ups for instructions. Don’t want to handle this wrongly. It maybe forged. Who knows?)
FA: let me check with my superiors mam. Please wait.
Shannon: (oh shit! The kid is crying. Let me get the bottle)
FA: (let me help her!)
Both: (confusion of the highest order!)
——-
FA: you’re good mam. Sorry for the wait. Please enjoy your flight.
We all know media loves to spin the facts to attract readers. We all know how lawyers in litigation loves to emphasize damage. Sadly, we all know how FA can be power tripping maniacs. But let’s be wise in viewing this incident, perhaps?