Brawl with police at Miami International Airport leads to two arrests

Airport gate.
Airport gate. Photo credit Getty Images

Travelers who must not have wanted to go home were sent to jail instead on Monday night after getting into a brawl with police at Miami International Airport.

Police were called to gate H8 at around 6:30 p.m. over a disturbance surrounding a delayed charter flight.

Shortly after that, a scuffle broke out and two people were arrested, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department, NBC News reported.

An "unruly passenger" appeared to have taken the keys to an airport golf cart and was not letting a worker leave, police reported.

Video footage shared on Twitter showed a large group watching an officer who appeared to have his arm around someone's neck in a chokehold.

Two people intervened in the scuffle, trying to release the man from the officer's hold as others shouted and recorded the incident.

After getting out of the officer's grip, he appeared to chase after the policeman, hitting him multiple times.

The officer backed away from the fight, appearing to pull out a weapon that prompted another person in the crowd to hold up their hands in and try to deescalate the situation.

It is unknown what led up to the fight, but the Miami-Dade Police said they are investigating it and what caused the officer to draw his weapon.

Potential charges for the two people taken into custody have not been released.

Miami International Airport Director and CEO Ralph Cutié shared that their airport is seeing a record-high number of passengers this winter travel season, NBC News reported.

"Unfortunately, that passenger growth has come with a record-high increase nationwide in bad behavior as well, such as the incident this evening at MIA," Cutié said.

He added that disruptive passengers could face arrest, being banned from flying, possible federal prosecution, and civil penalties of up to $37,000.

"Please travel responsibly by getting to the airport extra early, being patient, complying with the federal mask law and airport staff, limiting your alcohol consumption, and notifying police at the first sign of bad behavior by calling 911," Cutié added.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images