Uproar over United video imperils Chicago airport police

This Sunday, April 9, 2017, image made from a video provided by Audra D. Bridges shows a passenger being removed from a United Airlines flight in Chicago. Video of police officers dragging the passenger from an overbooked United Airlines flight sparked an uproar Monday on social media, and a spokesman for the airline insisted that employees had no choice but to contact authorities to remove the man. (Audra D. Bridges via AP) This Sunday, April 9, 2017, image made from a video provided by Audra D. Bridges shows a passenger being removed from a United Airlines flight in Chicago. Video of police officers dragging the passenger from an overbooked United Airlines flight sparked an uproar Monday on social media, and a spokesman for the airline insisted that employees had no choice but to contact authorities to remove the man. (Audra D. Bridges via AP)

By Associated Press April 13, 2017 1 min read

CHICAGO (AP) – The video of a man being dragged off a United Express flight shined an unwanted spotlight on the police force that guards Chicago’s two main airports and could threaten the agency’s future.

Alderman Chris Taliaferro says the cellphone footage has put the airport police at risk. He and other members of the city council were scheduled to grill United and the Chicago Aviation Department on Thursday about why a Kentucky physician was yanked out of his seat after he refused to get off the full jetliner at O’Hare Airport.

At the top of their list of questions is whether the airport officers had the authority to board the plane. The officers aren’t part of the city’s regular police force, get less training and can’t carry firearms inside the airport grounds.