People are defending United passenger after reports emerge of his 'troubled past' and CEO calls him 'belligerent'
On Tuesday, the Louisville Courier-Journal published an article reporting that the passenger, David Dao, had "a troubled history in Kentucky." The article cited drug-related felony convictions in the early 2000s that it said cost Dao his medical license, saying the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure allowed Dao to resume practicing medicine in 2015.
One of the few details to emerge about Dao as the video of his removal from the United flight went viral was that in refusing to leave the flight he described himself as a doctor who needed to get back to his patients.
Soon after the article was published, however, many on social media accused the Courier-Journal of attempting to justify an incident in which Dao was dragged from United flight 3411 by law-enforcement officers. Dao suffered injuries to his face and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
"Reporting this about the man United assaulted are not relevant to what happened & suggest a misunderstanding of the US legal system," media analyst Racheline Maltese wrote in a series of tweets arguing that reporting on Dao's past failed to offer proper context.
Many people saw the article on Dao's "troubled past" as part of a wider trend of reporting that blames victims and frames corporate or police behavior as justifiable.
In recent years, publications have faced backlash for sometimes highlighting the criminal history of people killed by police officers. For example, The New York Times was criticized for reporting in 2014 that Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, was "no angel."
United CEO Oscar Munoz explained the incident by saying gate agents were "left with no choice but to call Chicago Aviation Security Officers" after Dao became "disruptive and belligerent" when asked the leave the flight. Munoz said Dao had raised his voice and refused to leave the aircraft when gate agents told him he had to leave the flight because it was overbooked.
Response to Munoz and United's actions following the incident has been widely negative.
The Department of Transporation is reviewing the incident, and a police officer who was involved has been placed on leave.