Retired police chief helps subdue passenger after alleged midair outburst over alcohol cutoff

Retired Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara recovered himself backmost successful situation mode Thursday, not connected the streets of the Mill City, but 35,000 feet successful the air, erstwhile what should person been a regular United Airlines formation abruptly turned chaotic.

O'Hara told Fox News Digital helium watched formation attendants walk astir 45 minutes trying to de-escalate an progressively belligerent rider earlier the concern escalated, prompting him and 2 off-duty Bergen County, New Jersey, sheriff's deputies to intervene.

The retired constabulary chief, who was traveling with his woman aboard United Flight 1364 from Newark to Fort Lauderdale, said the rider repeatedly berated formation attendants, tried to get retired of his spot and behaved erratically arsenic unit members worked to support the concern nether control.

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Law enforcement officers escort an unruly rider disconnected a United Airlines formation aft retired Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara and 2 off-duty Bergen County sheriff's deputies helped restrain the antheral pursuing a midair disturbance. (Wafiyyah O'Hara)

"About similar for the past 45 minutes of the formation ... each the formation attendants came implicit and they were incredible," O'Hara told Fox News Digital. "Incredibly professional, conscionable trying to speech to this feline to de-escalate things."

According to O'Hara, the rider became progressively agitated aft formation attendants refused to service him much alcohol, a item helium said helium aboriginal learned from the Broward Sheriff's Office aft the arrest. The antheral reportedly continued shouting profanities and making threatening remarks earlier the brushwood turned physical.

"It was infuriating to perceive a antheral talk to these women who were conscionable incredibly nonrecreational and trying to support everybody harmless that mode for truthful long," O'Hara said. "And finally, helium conscionable benignant of got up and lunged towards them."

That's erstwhile 2 passengers seated adjacent the backmost of the craft grabbed the antheral from down arsenic O'Hara rushed guardant from his seat.

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The 3 men worked unneurotic to restrain the rider utilizing integrative flex cuffs earlier securing him backmost successful his spot truthful the formation attendants could instrumentality their seats and the level could onshore safely.

O'Hara aboriginal learned the 2 passengers were Bergen County Sheriff's officers from New Jersey.

United Airlines besides confirmed the incidental successful a connection to Fox News Digital.

"Local instrumentality enforcement met United Flight 1364 upon its accomplishment successful Fort Lauderdale to code an unruly passenger," the hose said. "We convey our unit and customers for assisting with the concern and helping guarantee the information of everyone onboard."

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A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX craft prepares for takeoff astatine Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport successful Arlington, Virginia, connected July 10, 2025. A United formation was diverted to Pittsburgh connected Saturday aft a reported information issue. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

The hose said the Boeing 737-900 was carrying 174 passengers and six unit members, including 2 pilots and 4 formation attendants.

While cellphone video of the confrontation has circulated wide connected societal media, O'Hara said it doesn't seizure the astir hour-long effort by the formation unit to peacefully resoluteness the concern earlier passengers stepped in.

"No 1 should instrumentality the benignant of verbal maltreatment that they did," helium said. "They were implicit professionals trying to support everybody safe."

O'Hara, who spent 25 years successful instrumentality enforcement earlier retiring aft starring nationalist information operations successful Newark, New Jersey, and aboriginal serving arsenic Minneapolis constabulary chief, said the incidental underscored conscionable however unsafe convulsive outbursts tin go aboard an aircraft.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara speaks during a quality league successful Minneapolis connected Jan. 10, 2026. (Jen Golbeck/AP)

"I started to think, well, geez, what are we going to bash if idiosyncratic truly wants to combat the full time?" helium said. "It's dangerous. We're successful specified a confined abstraction similar that, and someone's going to enactment retired similar that due to the fact that you don't cognize perchance what the information mightiness be."

His wife, who is simply a lieutenant with the Newark Police Department, was seated adjacent passim the ordeal.

"The lone happening I was reasoning astir was if this goes bad, I cognize astatine slightest she has my back," O'Hara said with a laugh, adding that helium has seen her "handle herself connected the street" and knew she would beryllium acceptable if the concern worsened.

Afterward, O'Hara's woman praised her husband's actions successful a societal media post.

"Proud of my hubby today," she wrote. "When a disruptive rider created a unsafe concern connected a flight, helium stepped up to assistance national agents safely apprehension him. Leadership isn’t conscionable astir the occupation you hold, it’s astir being consenting to assistance erstwhile others request it. Grateful everyone connected committee arrived safely."

Minneapolis Chief of Police, Brian O'Hara, called retired the city's "bourgeois wide mentality" pursuing the decease of George Floyd. (Getty Images)

Looking backmost connected the incident, O'Hara said helium hopes Americans take enactment implicit lasting by erstwhile guiltless radical are successful danger.

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"We're coming up connected the 25th day of September 11," helium said. "I would anticipation everybody successful this state present knows that if things are escalating to the constituent wherever there's going to beryllium immoderate benignant of violence, I deliberation each national that is capable to has a work to effort and assistance to halt it."

He besides said airlines should guarantee restraints are readily disposable and that unit members are trained to usage them if passengers go violent.

"I deliberation it would beryllium bully to marque definite that they person restraints that are available, that astatine slightest immoderate radical are trained successful immoderate mode to usage them safely to get idiosyncratic restrained if they needed to," O'Hara said.

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As of Thursday afternoon, authorities had not publically identified the rider oregon announced immoderate transgression charges.

Fox News Digital reached retired to the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Federal Aviation Administration for further accusation and comment.