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Home  >  Southwest Airlines  >  Man Chokes, Punches Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant….On A Train
Southwest Airlines

Man Chokes, Punches Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant….On A Train

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 23, 2021June 23, 2021 23 Comments

Another day, another horrific story of a passenger attacking a flight attendant. This time, the incident occurred to Southwest Airlines flight attendant at Denver…onboard an airport train.

Man Chokes, Punches Southwest Flight Attendant On Denver Airport Train

The alleged attack occurred not onboard an airplane, but on the intra-terminal train connecting terminals at Denver International Airport (DEN).  The flight attendant was onboard the train with Jeffrey Hiers, 29, at approximately 1:00am last Thursday. Hiers is accused of punching the flight attendant in the jaw, then choking her.

Witnesses onboard said the attack happened suddenly, with no prior discussion between the flight attendant and Hiers. Fellow passengers on the train pulled Hiers off the flight attendant and held him until police arrived.

Hiers was arrested and faces two misdemeanor assault charges. He was released on $1,500 bail.

Even though the attack did not occur onboard, it is sure to increase calls among airlines and flight attention unions to increase penalties for poor behavior onboard and lend credence to the argument that passengers are deliberately targeting flight attendants to take out their anger.

While it isn’t clear if the young man was intoxicated or mentally unstable, the fact that he chose the flight attendant instead of one of the other passengers onboard the train suggests specific intent.

CONCLUSION

I’m increasingly convinced the only way to stop passenger misbehavior at airports and onboard is through harsher fines and even jail time. While relaxing the mask mandate will help things, it is not clear whether this recent attack is linked to masks.

What a sad state of affairs when a flight attendant must be vigilant onboard a train for fear of attack by a crazed passenger.

(H/T: Paddle Your Own Kanoo // mug shot: Denver Police Department)

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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23 Comments

  1. Indica Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 1:05 pm

    “While it isn’t clear if the young man was intoxicated or mentally unstable, the fact that he chose the flight attendant instead of one of the other passengers onboard the train”

    ….. yes?

  2. James Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 1:07 pm

    Stop muzzling everyone and this madness will be reduced dramatically. People are tired of the mask nonsense and overbearing, power tripping flight attendants.

    • Sam Reply
      June 24, 2021 at 2:15 pm

      I’m Curious to what you think flight attendants power tripping is? Is it when they tell you to fasten your seatbelt, is they tell you to stay seated because the fasten seatbelt sign is on, When they tell you you have to stow your luggage? These are things that are required by the FAA. I’d like to hear your side of power tripping by flight attendants? Give some examples of what they all are doing?

    • JGRL Reply
      June 24, 2021 at 2:31 pm

      My theory exactly!! Thank you!

  3. cargocult Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 1:28 pm

    Imposing prison time or even executions on murderers hardly prevents murders. Locking murderers up does inhibit their abilities to commit further murders. There are lots of mentally unstable people out there who would have been institutionalized in previous generations. Lockdowns only exacerbated the problem.

  4. Jerry Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 1:50 pm

    I disagree that stricter penalties would make people stop committing these crimes. Capital punishment certainly doesn’t keep the murder rate down in the USA. Punishing more people, and imprisoning more of our population doesn’t address the cause, it only exacerbates it.

    Our society’s lack of concern for mental health, puritanical views on alcohol, and yes, the refusal to address mask mandates would help. A desire to respect one another would help too, but I worry that ship may be lost at sea.

  5. derrk Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 2:39 pm

    News reports are unclear at this point.

    1. Was the man a passenger on the flight that the FA finished working on (assuming the FA was working)?
    2. Was there any disagreements on the flight between the man and that FA or any FA?
    3. Was there any disagreements after the flight?
    4. History of mental illness in the passenger or the FA?

    There is a possibility that the man and FA did not interact prior to the fight and that the man was not even a Southwest passenger, though that’s less likely.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 23, 2021 at 2:46 pm

      Early reports suggest the man and the FA did not previously interact.

  6. Dan Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    Apparently James thinks it’s OK to start punching people because of the inconvenience of wearing a mask during a pandemic. Yes, we’re probably at the tail end of this pandemic but you’re talking about a superspreader location where vaccine rates are still on the low side.

    Stop being a child. Do something helpful and think of others for just one second.

  7. Sorry, Soapbox Time Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 3:39 pm

    Capital punishment ABSOLUTELY prevents that criminal from ever committing another crime. Statistically the probability of a person committing a crime while locked up jail or prison is much lower than while that person is not locked up. “Capital punishment certainly doesn’t keep the murder rate down in the USA.” is an opinion, it cannot be proven, can’t do a randomized blinded study comparing people who were executed to those who received placebo execution.

    Masks are as valid a cause of crime and bad behavior as clothing and shoes. Mask mandates are as correct and just as forced treatment of people with tuberculosis and no-smoking (second hand smoke) laws.

    I’m a die-hard liberal but I also believe that we let the vast majority of criminals off way too easily for any number of preposterous reasons. I don’t recall if the Twinkie Defense worked but the mere fact that it was allowable indicates the sorry state of our justice system. You can’t fight crime by fighting the different problem of mental health. Mental health problems are too pervasive, occult and not a primary cause of crime, such that treatment of mental health is at best a minimally effective means of decreasing crime. We should treat mental health because it’s a medical problem.

    He “just punched her in her jaw and then placed his hands around her neck and started to choke her” and he’s “currently facing a misdemeanor charge of assault and has been released on a $1,500 personal recognizance bond.” Outrageous, he should be charged with felony attempted murder, no bail and if convicted sentenced to 10 or 20 years in prison, during which time he would not be able to assault any other flight attendant (or any other law abiding person). Instead, in a month or 2 he’ll probably be on that same airport train about to break someone else’s jaw, maybe mine or yours.

    There are different types of justice systems. Some are designed to never let off a guilty person at the cost of punishing some innocent people. Some are designed to never convict or penalize an innocent person at the cost of letting off some guilty people. Impossible to have it both ways. Our system has gone too far overboard to prevent the punishment of innocent people. The major problem in the USA along these lines is that we allow people way too many excuses to not take responsibility for their own decisions and behavior.

    • Jerry Reply
      June 23, 2021 at 6:15 pm

      So our justice system has a larger percentage of our population imprisoned than any developed country, yet you think we are letting too many guilty people get away in order to protect the innocent. I think you’re a liberal in the same sense that Tony Abbot is.

      What country’s criminal justice system do you think we should emulate?

      • Sorry, Soapbox Time Reply
        June 23, 2021 at 6:41 pm

        Jerry: You don’t know me or my political opinions, please don’t post personal comments. Address the subject, not the author.

    • emercycrite Reply
      June 24, 2021 at 5:49 am

      I’m all for capital punishment. It works.

      • cargocult Reply
        June 24, 2021 at 10:35 am

        I see you are in agreement with ISIS. Enjoy the view from the rooftop!

  8. CHRIS Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    Maybe the flight attendant just couldn’t help herself and had to hassle the man about wearing a mask “in the airport”. This is why you don’t look for trouble. Because when you do, you will surely find it. She found it.

  9. Santastico Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 7:17 pm

    So, it seems like Southwest comes into news a lot regarding passengers behaving badly lately. So, I haven’t been on a Southwest plane for decades until today. I had to make a day trip to Chicago with my family and the only option that would place us in Chicago before 8am was Southwest. The flight to Chicago was fine and as we checked in at the gate to get into the plane I had all boarding passes for me, my wife and two kids on my phone. The gate agent was nice and everything was easy. Now, going back home, I experienced the Southwest“ welcoming package”. First, the gate are is a total zoo. As the boarding process started we all lined up like cattle on our number and proceeded to the plane. As we got to the gate agent he got very mad that all boarding passes were on my phone. I politely told him that we boarded this morning on our way to Chicago and nobody told us that was a problem. Oh boy!!! He started to give me a lesson that it is a Federal regulation that all passengers 12 and older have to carry their own boarding passes. I then apologized and said I was not aware of that regulation and that my kids didn’t have a phone to have their boarding passes. He almost lost it and sent us to see a customer service agent to issue us all paper boarding passes otherwise we could not board the plane. He was pushing into a point so I would say something so he would then say we could not fly. Now I know why stories about unruly passengers always involves Southwest. Haven’t used them in a decade. Will never fly them again.

  10. Paolo Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 7:50 pm

    You canvassing of penalties…”…EVEN jail time” implies that would be a last resort. No, it should be mandatory, with no judicial discretion. Let these pests reflect on their actions during a month in the slammer ( or longer for more serious assaults) .

    • cargocult Reply
      June 24, 2021 at 1:04 am

      Mandatory sentencing laws are racist. Why do you want to enact white supremacy? Where is your allyship?

  11. Henry Reply
    June 23, 2021 at 8:04 pm

    This IS odd to me. This is a felony offense in almost any and all circumstances. I don’t get the misdemeanor charge here.

    • Derek Reply
      June 23, 2021 at 8:31 pm

      No weapons were involved. Straight forward misdemeanor

  12. DFWSteve Reply
    June 24, 2021 at 12:20 pm

    Quit blaming masks, Trump, Dr Fauci, Biden, climate change, the price of peanuts in Portugal or whatever. People must take responsibility for their own actions. If they cannot behave on public transportation, a year in jail with time on a chain-gang, then ban them from airports for life. Enforce it by eliminating their access to any future social security benefits, stimulus checks or Obamacare benefits. I promise you that would put a major dent in this bullish!t.

    I travel a lot and I’m WAY too busy to have this type of crap disrupt things for me or other responsible travelers.

  13. TWA John Reply
    June 24, 2021 at 12:56 pm

    I am changing to clip on ties.

  14. PolishKnight Reply
    June 25, 2021 at 9:36 am

    Somehow, I think this applies to this particular incident and following comments:
    https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91EDI7zrnHL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

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