Changes In Airport Security Announced After United Passenger Dragged Off Plane
CHICAGO (CBS) – Chicago's Aviation Department has completed its review of security procedures at O'Hare and is making changes after the widely viewed incident in which city personnel dragged a passenger off a United jet and injured him.
The video of a doctor being forced off an overbooked flight at O'Hare in April went viral.
In response, the department reviewed its security division and issued a report on Wednesday outlining changed to prevent another incident.
City Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans said new regulations in training make it clear that when it comes to disturbances at Chicago airports, on or off of an airplane.
The major reform of the report is the clarification that the Chicago Police Department is the lead agency, not airport security officers, responding to any reported disturbance at the city's airports, on or off the planes.
Evans does not anticipate any confusion.
"We've had in the past had very good, cooperative responses from both groups. And we just had this one incident, that for some reason it resulted in an unacceptable response," Evans said.
But Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans said aviation security officers may board planes, sometimes.
"For medical responses, the aviation security officers will respond in the area of the airport where they are called, including on an aircraft."
The department is also following through with an earlier order, taking the word "police" off of the uniforms and vehicles of aviation security officers. That is something the union objected to, but Evans said they are not police.
"Talking about police, that's just confusing and unnecessary," Evans said.
The department is to update its manual and training for security officers, so they know their roles better.