Terrell Davis' lawyer announces plans to sue United Airlines over handcuffing incident: "It's horrific"
After former Denver Broncos running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis was handcuffed by FBI agents and removed from a United plane, his lawyer says his office intends to sue the airline.
Davis' attorney Parker Stinar released a new video showing the incident on Tuesday morning.
"It's horrific and United needs to be held accountable," Stinar told CBS News Colorado's Mekialaya White via Zoom. "We plan on filing a lawsuit in the next couple of weeks."
It happened earlier this month. Davis was on a United commercial flight from Denver to California. In the video captured by a fellow passenger, you can see FBI agents leading Davis off the plane after a flight attendant claimed Davis hit him. Davis says he lightly tapped the attendant to ask for a cup of ice for his son. He says that attendant shouted, "Don't hit me." Then, the attendant went off to another part of the plane.
Davis recounted what happened after that in a CBS Mornings interview.
"They come straight to me, and the agent walks up to me, and he leans over and whispers 'Don't fight it,'" Davis said. He was then handcuffed. "At that moment, I felt powerless. I felt embarrassed. I thought, 'what the hell is going on?' I didn't get a chance to see what was happening. He didn't tell me what was happening."
Stinar says Davis was compliant and didn't deserve that treatment. "He's beloved everywhere. He's just a wonderful man. He was fully cooperative with law enforcement leaving the plane and then, throughout the interview. We've heard from passengers on the flight that, in addition to the video, confirm the story that the Davises have shared, that there was no incident. There was no hit."
"Do you believe he was targeted for his race?" White asked.
"Yes, I do think that race played a role," Stinar said.
He says the issue of discrimination is widespread and the Davis family plans to advocate for others in the future: "If he was just another Black man on that flight, what would've taken place?"