A veteran purportedly walked away from a bar at DFW Airport without paying his $130 tab because he did not think veterans should have to pay for their alcohol. That’s bad enough, but then the cops were called in and the situation went from bad to far worse thanks to the poor attitude of one of the airport police officers.
Veteran Thinks He Should Get Free Drinks At DFW Airport Bar
Body cam video starts with police approaching the bartender or waitress and her explanation that a man seated nearby refused to pay his bar tab, stating that he as a veteran he should be entitled to free alcoholic drinks.
The man approaches approaches the cop and the cop pushes him away with his left hand. The vet responded that the cop should not touch him, to which the cop told him to sit down.
Vet: “Don’t talk to me like I’m a little kid.”
Cop: “Don’t talk to me like I’m not a police officer.”
Boom. That’s it. The little “one inch from princess, respect my authoritah” cop has that toxic attitude that tends to infect people with badges and makes the job harder for the vast majority of law enforcement officers, like his colleague, who are simply trying to do their jobs and respect those that they serve.
I have little pity for the vet if he ran up a $130 bar tab and then tried to avoid paying it. I’m glad the bartender did call the cops on him and he should be held responsible for failing to pay his tab.
But I felt the cop was condescending and rude from the very start…and therefore it is no surprise that this guy did not react well.
The vet was very petty for repeatedly asking the police officer if he had been to war (doesn’t matter…), but from my vantage point, asking that question, even repeatedly, does not give the cop license to handcuff the man and then throw him onto the ground.
And this is why I like body cams…and why they should be made public too. I think the video below was posted to shame the vet…but I think it shames the cop more than it shames the vet (though it certainly shames the vet too). And I just wonder how nasty the cop would have been had there been no accountability via the body cam?
Listen to him try to justify himself outside the airport after the vet is placed in a cop car. It’s churlishness…
Bottom line: pay your bar tabs and don’t try to pull the veteran card to get out of it. He’s a disgrace to all those who have worn the uniform, including me. Even better, do not drink before you fly, especially at an overpriced airport bar.
Furthermore, we should all respect those placed in authority over us. But that doesn’t mean those in authority do not have an obligation to respect those whom they have sworn to serve, including being courteous even when it is not reciprocated.
Cop did nothing wrong. The guy was a jerk from the start.
@RC … +1 . Cuffed and stuffed .
I agree-The cop was respectful and had every right to announce himself as an officer???? Why was this cop even mentioned for alleged wrongdoing????
No kidding. I’m not one to easily defend the police, but the cop was super patient with this guy.
The second cop was a saint. I found the snark of the first cop make a bad matter far worse.
The vet was a drunk Adam Henry. You are completely off base with the commentary about the police officer.
Matt stop being a snowflake. Neither officer did anything wrong. Based on your opinion, its ok for the VET to be disrespectful but everyone else must be a saint.. Grow up!
Retired police officer here. The police were extremely polite with this drunk. The body cam saved this guy a visit to IA. I don’t know what kind of lives you think police live. Maybe he had an argument with his wife, or had received bad news about a loved one. I’ve dealt with a lot of drunks and I’d have arrested him for drunk and disorderly back in the day. The boys were extremely professional with this drunk.
@Steve … +1 . Thank you for being a police officer . These officers , and the jail officers as well , were very good .
Of course you do, Liberal Mentality is a bad disease. What the hell are you talking about, the “Police Officer” behaved properly, obviously he’s dealing with an intoxicated person. Your article sucks when you changed the attention from the “Suspect” (not paying for your drinks is a CRIME) to the “Police Officer” (not Cop) for Police hating idiots like you. Find another career.
“Liberal Mentality”
Did you get that, Aaron?
Learn to proof read. Repeating words. You are supposed to be a journalist.
Hi Matthew. I do agree with the other´s in this thread. The cop did nothing wrong, and I am a bit shocked that you disagree. The drunk man was way out of line, and the police handled it very professionally. I completely agree with Hans, BDRL and Steve.
+1
Yeah this cop handled this fine. Matthew maybe you want to stand up for vets but you just called this one wrong, plain and simple. This guy should get kid gloves treatment….because why?
The cop did nothing wrong. I would even say the initial response was not only justified but a well known tactic to reflect the person you are speaking with. The vet got the message.
That said, I question his veteran status. Vets are by and large honorable, and this person just is not honorable.
everyone but the dude who didn’t want to pay was wrong.
guy fought for the country
meanwhile President Brandon letting in anyone into this county and giving them home, phone, flights and food for free.
Don’t drink before you fly… no surprise Matthew believes in the nanny state… Par for the course.
I believe in personal responsibility.
So do I -but why are you mentioning this officer at all-He did everything that would be expected. Tried to allow the bar tab to be paid-thanked him for his service and only asked that he be treated like a Police Officer
Your characterization of the officer is wrong. You owe him an apology and you should think before publishing such a biased article.
I can certainly draw my own conclusions and we are allowed to disagree. I found his attitude very unhelpful…as was the vet’s attitude.
As a vet myself this “vet” was completely out of line. The cop had all the patience’s in the world. Just say you don’t like cops. I see a bigger picture in this. That vet is suffering and is in need of help yet you want to minimize his cries and focus on your slanted view of a cop
Possibly he was not a genuine war vet . I would have asked him which branch of service , which unit , and what years . There are many fake vets , and even many rear-echelon or state-side vets who are fake warriors . If the policeman had asked him those questions , and he was exposed as a fake war vet , it might have been easier to cuff him .
P.S. Acting respectfully towards a police officer goes a long way . I support all police officers , including this one .
The vet is a total idiot. First, what did he drink to get a $130 tab? He should be ashamed. As for the police officer, do not talk to the cops. Just follow their orders and even if you don’t like it, get a lawyer later but never engage in a conversation with them.
@Santastico … He may not have been an actual vet . An actual serviceman learns early on to be respectful of those in authority.
Also , if a police officer asks any question , better to answer the police honestly . The police are there to protect me and you . I support all police officers , on or off duty .
A famous chess player was stopped for being a suspect , and arrested for not answering police questions about his identity . Possibly if he had answered their questions , he might not have been arrested .
I am retired vet. Cop was polite and professional. Drunk was being idiot and Author is oblivious, one of those cop hating Lib, trying get cash on his opinion. No one’s care.
Cop hating libs, rotfl.
“Cop hating lib” my dude have you READ this blog run by a former member of the Bush admin? Get real lol
@mohammed
vet of isis doesn’t count
This gives those of us who are veterans ( I am 100% combat disabled) bad optics in the public’s eye. It’s had enough to deal with our own issues from being in a war zone let alone those in the public that have a low opinion of vet’s.
Sad
@Ghostrider5408 … I salute you .
Two units who were ghostriders were VA-164 ( USN) and AC-130J gunships (USAF) . Both were top drawer .
The thief deserved to be handcuffed. This event would not have happened if this moron had of paid his tab. Police have better things to do than deal with an idiot like this “vet”.
@David Miller … +1 .
It’s poor, and obviously biased, journalism trying to imply the first officer did anything wrong. You’re attempting to push a narrative that isn’t there.
This is commentary, not journalism.
Likelihood of him being a bona-fide combat vet … near zero. Embarrassing to real veterans everywhere.
If other patrons of the bar want to buy the veteran drinks, let them. But if no one else is paying for the drink, the drinker owes the bar. ‘nuf sed.
Guy was a jerk. I’m a veteran and would never think I could get free privileges. The vast majority of us wouldn’t either.
So agreed. When confronted with the police just behave with honor. All issues will be adjudicated in court. And in my view the police did what was needed to accomplish the arrest.
Did I just watch the same thing that this writer did? Dude went up to the cops face, clearly intoxicated. I see the cop’s police training kick in, and not let a suspect get too near to grab his gun. Cop was speaking calmly not trying to escalate the situation by giving the man a chance to pay. Even told the other cop of the plan. Then unfortunately it all went downhill. If he didn’t get arrested at the gate, then I’d be worried for the other passengers on the same flight.
All in all i see
– Heavily intoxicated suspect
– cops doing their job
– biased writer
Did we watch the same video? I didn’t think the police officer was out of line at all when he reminded the thief that he was a police officer. And the other officers knew this guy was primed to fight and sure enough he kept threatening it and then when they tried to subdue him, he put that into action.
The drunk guy was just out of his mind. He thinks he left his card on the bar to pay the tab, but he doesn’t realize that then there would be a receipt and the restaurant manager wouldn’t be there trying to get some money. Then he doesn’t even remember what bar he was in. I expected the officer to be way out of line. That was not the case at all and this was in a crowded terminal with plenty of people taking videos. If there was anything to see here as far as mistreatment or provocation, you can imagine it would have been posted somewhere last year when this guy was arrested. I don’t understand why airport bars keep over serving people who have nowhere to go except onto a plane.
The cop was snowflak-ish.
Why are all these commenters disputing that a war vet can be a jerk? Timothy McVey was a great guy. So was Gary Ridgway. And ever hear of Hitler?!
What you smokin’ bro? Your comment made no sense. So far all of the commenters have supported the officer and id’d the drunk vet in the wrong.
I once had a drunk vet passenger have a similar bar tab and miss their connection. They got to the gate to find no agent and the jetway coming back from the airplane. After trying to pull open the jetway door, unsuccessfully (too drunk to see the door was a push-to-open as a fire escape) he went to the next gate where that agent was helping someone. He went to the front, and was asked to please wait. He went behind the counter, picked up the gate agent, threw her over the counter into an elderly woman in a wheelchair. Then he went back around and started kicking the agent, breaking her arm. The ramp supervisor was in the jetway walking up to verify bag counts and heard the commotion and ran while calling on the radio for help. By the time I got there, 4 or 5 ramp agents had the guy up against the wall on the floor and were preventing him from moving.
He was arrested. Charges were pressed. Apparently PTSD was the cause for this, as a veteran.
He served only the day in jail until he made bail, and the result of the case was nolle prosequi. Try explaining that one to your front line employees.
@NedsKid … Twice you refer to him as a “vet” or a “veteran” .
What evidence do you have that he was actually a “veteran” ? His say-so ?
Personally , I have doubts that he was an actual vet . Actual vets have been mis-labeled before .
@Alert: From identification he provided to law enforcement and from attending court hearing.
I’m no lover of cops with a power complex, but that cop did nothing wrong.
#Stuart in GA … +1 . Yep , by the book .
Best advice I could ever offer to anyone…
1. Pay what you owe. This should be obvious to any adult. We owe plenty to vets, but airport bar tabs aren’t part of social compact.
2. Never say anything to law enforcement beyond simple yes or no answers. Their job is not to find the truth of a dispute but to build a case against you in the event of prosecution. It’s literally part of your Miranda rights… anything you say can and will be used against you. And it will.
Better to be assumed guilty than open your mouth and remove all doubt. Ok, I altered that bit of wisdom slightly. But it’s nevertheless valid.
“But the cop was condescending and rude from the very start…and therefore it is no surprise that this guy did not react well.”
I have a feeling the guy would not have reacted well to anyone questioning his stated self of entitlement regarding paying for the drinks.
Plus, I know airport bars aren’t the cheapest, but damn, $130?
@Aaron … +1 .
I thought the same.
Uh, this idiot was drunk and a jerk who didn’t pay- cops were more than nice with him. He deserved a lot worse. Vet or not, we don’t even know if that’s true- regardless he asked for everything he got.
For some dim-wit to characterize the cops as disrespectful is insane. Author should get his eyes and ears checked out.
Seems like the cop was spot on.
“Shames the cop more than it shames the vet?” I watched the entire 17 minute video and did not see anything inappropriate by the cops at all. In fact they were as courteous as they could be in this scenario even when the vet was escalating the situation.
@Descartes … +1 . The police were very good .
Shame on you, Mr Klint! The cop did nothing wrong and was extremely patient and professional. The passenger was clearly impaired and would/should have been denied boarding.
Nasty entitled veterans are literally the reason that I hate my retail job so much. Veterans were adequately compensated for their service, and the niceties that society gives them are courteous gestures, NOT RIGHTS AT ALL!!!
The cop was fine. A big old drunk dude walked right up on him, he was not forceful, he gently put his hand up to back the guy up. Don’t want someone grabbing your gun.
I’m no fan of police, generally — but did you actually watch the video? The guy was drunk and belligerent, the cop was calm and accommodating and spent a long time trying to get this guy to pay his bill, all while being insulted and threatened. I actually think he did a really good job. (And I don’t want that drunk on my plane.)
Matthew Klint; leftie snowflake
How is this “journalist” getting paid to write this nonsense?
Matthew is provocative. Gets us thinking and discussing. A good thing for everyone. Win win.
Agreed big time.
Very glad to see the majority of comments disagreeing with the author. I get a feeling he went into this video from an automatic ACAB perspective. I see no issues with the police officer’s actions. I highly doubt the vet was anything more than a REMF though.
I don’t give a S..t if this guy “served” or not. A criminal is a criminal. PTSD etc….nope not even that matters. Its not a license to commit crimes. Get help if you really need it or get bent.
As for calling out the cop….ridiculous but I guess we should be thankful that Matthew didn’t refer to him as a “White man with a gun” as that’s the new favorite for the lefties.
TBH it doesn’t seem to be the lefties who are the ones being triggered in this chat…
If a veteran tried that at the American Legion hall, he’d prob get schooled by his fellow vets, and cops called. If an active service member did that at the enlisted men’s club or NCO’s club, he’d likely get beaten by fellow military, hauled by MP’s for weekend in brig, article 15, loss of pay, loss of rank.
The cop did NOTHING wrong. Was he supposed to let a drunken G.I. Joe bully him? I think his attitude was perfect for the situation he was in.
I strongly disagree, but that’s just my opnion. I think the cop neeedlessly esclated the sitution in the first place.
Wonder if this jerk was a vet? If so he is a terrible representative for all of us and I hope he rots in a jail cell for a couple of weeks. If not, I hope he is publicly shamed as a fake a lier and he rots in a jail cell for a couple of weeks.
This article convinced me to stop reading this blog. It is just click bait.
Ciao.
I guess that’s one way to miss your flight. In all seriousness, I wouldn’t want this jerk as a seatmate on any flight I was on. Cops did what they had to do, given the drunken stupor this madman exhibited.
100% respectfully. Over 50 comments so far and at least 45 of them disagree with you (the other 5 are just ramblings with no sense). Do this fact make you think that you misjudged the situation? This is not an attack by any means, it’s just that I think you are a very reasonable person and I can’t understand how you believe that the cop was aggressive at all.
It could well be that I misjudged this. I still think public servants should be exceedingly kind, even to jerks, but I may be wrong here…I’m certainly willing to admit that.
At the 8:58 mark or so, the cops were getting ready to arrest the guy… they asked him to put his bag down because they were going to cuff him. He tenses up and tells them that they’re going to “make a big old scene out of this”. They took him down before he could get into position to fight them.
It looks like they took him down for no reason, but earlier in the clip he was tensing up and acting like he was willing to fight. He seemed kinda up and down, calm on moment and edgy the next. Drunks do dumb and unpredictable things, and they were chill with him for the entire nine minutes of the clip. They actually took him down without hurting him, so I can’t find any fault here.
this is the first time that I have read this blog, but it popped up in my Google newsfeed and the headline caught my attention so I read on.
#1) He was a REMF whose three years of “service” was comprised of cleaning latrines. Is a drunk now, was a drunk then. This USN vet never advertises my 12 years as a Turkey Driver, and I always have a negative view of those who wear it on their sleeve.
#2) I hold police to the same standard as all public facing servants. This officer was 100% on the mark. He was as respectful as could be with a this self absorbed sphincter. I caught myself hoping that he took a baton upside this jerk’s head, but he’s more of a *civil* servant then I could ever be.
#3) I put a block in Google News so I won’t see this half assed blog in the future.
Bye honey!
What a garbage article. Author obviously never leaves his little bubble at home to see how things are in the real world, and what police officers have to deal with. Big ‘ol anti-cop chip on his girlish shoulders. Just write your little puff pieces and leave judging how complex situations should be handled to people with experience.
Rotfl. You have no idea. Thanks for the laugh.
I wish all California shoplifters were arrested like this instead of being allowed to walk out of stores with thousands of dollars of merchandise. Unfortunately the vet was drunk and that didn’t help his attitude.
There are good cops and bad cops; you never know what you are going to get so avoid them and do not talk to them. Example, check out Google about the four white cops in Mississippi who were recently sentenced for torturing and sexually assaulting two black men. Just one of many stories about police abusing their authority and engaging in criminal behavior. Have a very pleasant day….. if you want to.
Vets are so entitled, worse than millennials. We get it, you worked for the government for a few years, and they paid you what they said they would. You’re owed nothing.
Who is the dim-wit who wrote this article…lol? He has to find something negative and inflamatory to write about the cop to garner replies while poorly attempting to somehow make it seem that the drunken moron in this story was really “not so bad” because the cop didn’t put up with the BS attitude of the drunken criminal and had the nerve to talk in a way a manner the drunken moron deserved to be responded to – so it’s now the cop’s fault for “escalating” the situation. I’m sure this overly sensitive snowflake of a so-called journalist is the type to go hide behind law enforcement if someone were to be doing something to him but yet he couldn’t begin to wear a badge – whether he wanted to or not… SMH…
Haven’t seen one person agree with the author, who obviously has a bone to pick with police who are doing their jobs in difficult situations. You run up a $130 tab, you pay it or face the (pretty innocuous) consequences, period. Whether you are a vet or not is totally irrelevant.
The Free Dranks 4 Vets (FD4V) Bill has been hung up in the senate for far too long. Meanwhile our betters in the legislature send billions to other countries in exchange for zero material benefit to the typical American. Write your legislators, send them this video, and tell them to pass FD4V now!!!!
We are assuming that he is a combat veteran. Or that he is even a veteran in the first place. My BS detector thinks that he is not. I would wait to see if that is true before giving him the credit. The reason is that he also starts spewing that he is Marine, this and that. This is the type of behavior you typical see with stolen valor cases.
I agree with others that cop really did nothing wrong.
Did we watch the same video? The “vet” was clearly in the wrong here and you’re blaming the cop lol.
His same stupid “logic” could apply to airline tickets. Does he think veterans shouldn’t have to pay for those, either?
Way to go author! Turn this article around on the cop being the bad guy!
Mr Klint, I have always enjoyed your articles. But when virtually 100% of your commenters disagree with an article of yours, it should be a sign you mistook what you wrote. I would suggest you keep your articles to traveling, and not to something you obviously have no knowledge of.
This alleged war vet was hammered, belligerent, came up fast into the cop’s space, lied, made threats, was non-compliant, and resisted arrest. All the officers (including the first on the scene) was quite patient and professional – kudos to them – if I ever deal with police officers at some point in the future, I hope they treat me like these treated that drunken mess. This author claims in his responses that “This is commentary, not journalism.” I couldn’t agree with him more on that point – this is just amateur hour commentary from someone looking for attention and clicks.
Military people should receive no special treatment in American society. We pay our taxes and we support them and that’s about it.
Only two kinds of people join the military, Sociopaths or Morons.
Being a veteran of the us military is not something to be proud of. Every war since Korea is a lit and a war crime. They are being proud of being war criminals.
Also john mccain is in hell.
Lesson to management. You don’t unleash pitbulls among general population. You don’t train people to kill all their lives then discard them in general population.
Tell me you hate cops without telling me you hate cops.
I guess you didn’t read what I actaully wrote…like toward the end. But I know reading comprehnesion is hard for some people…
Fascinating to see the author admonishing the people leaving comments on their story.
“But I know reading comprehnesion is hard for some people…”
In their article they label a person as snarky and unprofessional … and then choose to be both snarky and unprofessional in their own comments section. My impression is that these kind of responses are what you would post on a private social media and not on a place where you hope to bolster integrity and attempt to convey a professional atmosphere.
If you’ve chosen to professionally write opinions please be prepared to handle feedback and criticisms in a way that doesn’t tear down your audience.
I would appreciate it if people read what I wrote instead of opining without reading. I made clear that I had a problem with one of the cops, not his colleague, and that as a rule we must treat LEOs and others sworn to protect us with great respect. In other words, it shows those calling me “anti-cop” never even read the full story…
Much like the military only 2 kinds of people become cops.
Morons and Sociopaths.
If he is there he’s currently [REDACTED] yer grandma
I’d ask the man to watch his lanugage.
This is why they shouldn’t let cop heaters write articles! The officers all acted professionally. They could have taken him into custody a lot sooner for drunk and disorderly but they gave him a chance to pay his bill and walk away. If this drunk moron was in fact a Marine, he embarrassed the rest of us who served in the Corps.
This is America. You fought for my right to make a fool of myself. 😉
No one “allows” me to write anything. I write what I want.
Did anyone check to see if this guy actually was a veteran?
It seems to me that by telling the “veteran” not to forget he is a cop he was making a smart tactical move. It is a subtle way of setting boundaries and reminding the man that there are consequences in how you deal with police officers when they are conducting an investigation. Plus, it seemed clear that the alleged vet was intoxicated. So he probably hoped it might be enough or would at least help keep him calm so the matter could be resolved. I’m not a police officer, but it seems smart to me.
As for the writer’s response to comments, I suggest that you not be so sensitive or turn the comments option off. It seems like the main point of your story was to be critical of the officer’s approach. You had to realize some people might disagree.
I’m thrilled by the discussion that has ensued and you mustn’t confuse my reactions to some comments with thin skin or being overly sensitive. I’m a big boy and can take being disparaged…but I do expect people to engage with the arguments that I made, not the arguments they think I made.
@Matthew … +1 . Very Good Point . Most of us read your article and watched the complete video .
Also , we value our professional police because they are the only institution reliably protecting us . These officers were professional and courteous .
Also , we value our genuine veterans , ( and not those who self-proclaim themselves to be , without evidence ) .
The only institution where every “customer” is a bona fide veteran is a VA Hospital , and everyone I have met there is courteous .
I know the E concourse well enough at DFW to know that the pics are taken near the Spirit gates lol.
Articles like this are worthless to be on the internet. Much less, show up on my news feed. Authors like this are completely off based providing nothing but garbage “news”. These cops provided much patience and long-suffering for this individual. Did absolutely nothing wrong. The fact that anyone would think that these cops were out of line in the slightest need not to be in any sort of journalism.
Hi Matt, it’s a bit hard to follow your statement of not wanting to make the cop the main part of the story here when reading this line ” And I just wonder how nasty the cop would have been had there been no accountability via the body cam?” That’s a pretty loaded question and thought the video the cop show tremendous patience with some drunken guy who is rude right from the start and lies about paying. Plus even with no boydcam there are tons of people in the gate area who could have taped this in case the cop is doing anything out of order…but the cop even calls out the fact that drunk guy makes life hard for a server living on tips (did you ever think how courageous she is not knowing if that same guy ever passes by her airport bar again?) Not sure what the cop could have possibly done more trying to defuse. If I were that cop I think I’d be a lot less patient!
I appreciate the police but this COP has no respect for the military. “Once a marine always a marine”. Remember many marines have given their life so you can arrest someone once in a while for being drunk and not paying a bill at the “airport”. Maybe a mall job is in your future. Let’s get the survey arrested for serving drinks up-to $135.00 tab.
Classic example of a professional veteran, if in fact, he really is a veteran. If so, I’m guessing he was a REMF. They generally have the biggest mouths and carry the biggest chips on their shoulders. That’s true in my American Legion post.
PTSD is real and so is alcholism. Either way the veteran needs to own his actions just like the military has trained us to do. Hopefully he won’t be another suicide statistic, but with that tab it’s an indicator.
The author obviously has something against police. This guy pulled the vet card and was aggressive from the get-go. The cop did absolutely nothing wrong. He even tried to calm the man down when he said he was embarrassed, telling him that no one there knows him OR the cops. And if the vet had just left things the way they were THEN, the video wouldn’t have contained anything worth posting on ANY YouTube channel. But the vet escalated yet AGAIN when the officer put his hand on his arm. So this is ALL on the vet. NO vet should ever expect anything for free. It is fine for businesses to honor their service, but it should NOT be expected.