Watch CBS News

Caught On Video: Woman Dragged Off Southwest Flight Over Alleged Allergy To Dogs

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) — A woman on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport was dragged off a Southwest plane Tuesday night by two police officers after claiming she was deathly allergic to two dogs on the flight.

Video shows the woman being forcibly removed by two law enforcement officers. She can be heard yelling, "Don't touch me," and at one point also accused the officers of ripping her pants.

The kerfuffle was preceded by the woman telling the flight crew that she had a life-threatening allergy to two dogs on the flight, one of which was a service animal, and her demand that they be removed from the flight.

When she could not provide a medical certificate stating she could travel safely, she was asked to leave.

"They spent a long time talking to the woman, explaining to her what the situation was, trying to work with her," said Bill Dumas, who shot the cell phone video. "The pilot said they wouldn't leave until it got resolved."

As the officers removed the unidentified woman, Dumas said she kept saying she was just trying to get to her father's surgery.

"If you look at the police, they were being overly aggressive. Really, she wasn't giving them much of a choice, and the people on the plane were saying, 'Just get off the plane,'" he said.

According to a statement issued by Southwest, "We are disheartened by the way this situation unfolded and the Customer's removal by local law enforcement officers. We publicly offer our apologies to this Customer for her experience and we will be contacting her directly to address her concerns."

The flight went on to LAX and arrived on schedule.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.