The Chicago Department of Aviation has fired two security officers who were involved in an incident in which a passenger was dragged off a United Airlines flight after refusing to give up his seat.
Officials say one of those officers, a sergeant, also was part of an attempt to cover up some details of the incident that happened in April at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Four officers were involved in the incident related to passenger David Dao, who had been aboard a flight to Louisville, Kentucky.
The department suspended the two other officers, and one of those officers resigned.
The city’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released Tuesday that as a result of the office’s findings and recommendations, the Aviation Department fired an officer who ‘improperly escalated the incident’ and a sergeant involved in removing facts from a report.
The two security officers who were involved in dragging Dr. David Dao off a flight were fired
Chicago’s Inspector General Joseph Ferguson said an officer and an Aviation Security sergeant were fired, a third officer resigned and another received a five-day suspension which was shorted to two days on appeal — for their involvement in the ‘violent forcible removal’ of Dr. David Dao.
The report did not reveal the identities of the officers.
In their own reports, the officers claimed they used ‘minimal but necessary force’ in removing Dao from the plane.
They blamed Dao for his injuries, saying while they were attempting to remove him he flailed his arms, knocking over an officer and falling face-first into the armrest of a seat across the aisle.
Ferguson does not indicate which statements were ‘misleading.’ Additionally, it’s unclear what ‘material facts’ were altered or removed by the Sergeant.
![Dr David Dao, 69, pictured bloodied](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/17/21/456FE5AD00000578-4990164-image-m-97_1508272443085.jpg)
![Dao was violently dragged off an overbooked flight](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/17/21/456FE5B100000578-4990164-image-a-98_1508272448788.jpg)
Dr David Dao, 69 (pictured bloodied, left) was violently dragged off an overbooked flight
![Dao received an undisclosed sum from United Airlines to avoid him suing the company in court](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/17/21/456FE5A500000578-4990164-image-a-96_1508272435474.jpg)
Dao received an undisclosed sum from United Airlines to avoid him suing the company in court
Last month, a federal agency also decided not to punish United Airlines over the incident.
The US Department of Transportation said it found no evidence that United violated the civil rights of Dr David Dao, 69, and insufficient evidence that it violated rules regarding bumping passengers off overcrowded planes.
The federal agency also concluded that ‘there was no evidence that United discriminated against any of the passengers who were involuntarily denied boarding on Flight 3411 based on their race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or ancestry.’
On April 9, three airport security officers at Chicago´s O`Hare International Airport dragged Dao from United Express Flight 3411 to Louisville, in an incident that that was recorded by other passengers on video and shared on social media.
![Dao, pictured with his large family in Kentucky in July, later reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum with United Airlines](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/10/17/21/456FE5A900000578-4990164-Dao_pictured_with_his_large_family_in_Kentucky_in_July_later_rea-a-107_1508273432163.jpg)
Dao, pictured with his large family in Kentucky in July, later reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum with United Airlines
Graphic cellphone footage, which quickly went viral online, showed Dr Dao with blood on his face after the officers who were dragging him down the aisle dropped his head on an arm rest, leaving him with a concussion, a broken nose and two missing teeth.
Amid the outrage sparked by the incident, United said it bumped Dao and his family to make room for four employees who were traveling to staff a flight the following morning.
![Damage control: United CEO Oscar Munoz apologized at a congressional hearing in May for the forcible removal of Dao (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/07/16/4401F0AE00000578-4859830-image-m-54_1504798988913.jpg)
Damage control: United CEO Oscar Munoz apologized at a congressional hearing in May for the forcible removal of Dao (pictured)
United said in a statement ‘this incident should never have happened and we are implementing all of the improvements we announced in April, which put the customer at the center of everything we do.’
The incident drew attention to the controversial practice of ‘bumping’ whereby airlines prevent passengers from boarding flights after deliberately overbooking them to ensure all seats are filled in case some passengers fail to show up.
United said it had an almost 90 per cent reduction of so-called involuntary denied boardings year-on-year since May 1.
United CEO Oscar Munoz apologized at a congressional hearing in May for the forcible removal of Dao, with whom the airline later reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum.
United ultimately changed some of its policies, including paying up to $10,000 for passengers to give up their seat, and only involuntary bumping passengers if health or safety are at risk.