Retired San Mateo Cop Recalls Takedown Of Cockpit Suspect
SAN MATEO (CBS SF) - A retired San Mateo police officer who helped subdue a passenger trying to storm the cockpit of a San Francisco-bound American Airlines flight on Sunday described Tuesday how he and others restrained the man.
Larry Wright, 54, of San Mateo, said he had earbuds in when he heard a scream behind him and saw the suspect, 28-year-old Rageh al-Murisi, run past him saying "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great."
Wright followed al-Murisi to the front of the plane, where crew members and other passengers had brought him to the ground.
Wright's police training instincts kicked in, he said, as he put al-Murisi in a control hold and threaded flex cuffs supplied by crew members around his wrists and ankles.
He then put al-Murisi on the ground and sat on him for the remainder of the flight. He said al-Murisi kept repeating "Allahu Akbar" as he was held down.
Wright said he had the impression that al-Murisi's actions weren't spontaneous.
"My opinion at the time was that he had thought about it," said Wright, who was police officer for 27 years.
Al-Murisi's lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth Falk, said she will ask for bail during a hearing on Friday and will talk to al-Murisi's relatives in Vallejo to determine whether they can post a bond.
Al-Murisi was charged in a federal criminal complaint on Monday with interfering with crew members on the flight, which was headed from Chicago to San Francisco International Airport.
An affidavit filed with the complaint states that al-Murisi left his seat in the rear of the plane, headed through first class and tried to open the locked cockpit door by moving the door handles.
The chief flight attendant initially thought al-Murisi was looking for the restroom and twice told him the lavatory was on the left. But al-Murisi then made eye contact with the attendant and began ramming the door with his shoulder, the affidavit said.
After the flight attendant called for help, al-Murisi was subdued and placed in plastic handcuffs by flight attendants and passengers, including Wright and a retired U.S. Secret Service officer.
Becker, in asking Larson for custody without bail Tuesday, mentioned that al-Murisi had said "Allahu Akbar" as he moved toward the cockpit door.
She said an al-Qaeda terrorist who participated in the hijacking of Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, was heard on a voice recorder to have said the same phrase as the plane plummeted to a field in Pennsylvania.
Becker said al-Murisi had no luggage and was carrying two checks totaling $13,000 on the flight. She said that al-Murisi, who holds a Yemeni passport, had identification showing addresses in New York City and Vallejo.
Outside of court, relatives said al-Murisi had been a math teacher in Yemen and had lived in Vallejo for a time before moving to New York.
Ahmed Almoraissi, 25, of Vallejo, who said he is a cousin, said, "He's a normal guy.
"He has no intention of hurting anyone. It doesn't make sense," the cousin said.
Today's court session was al-Murisi's initial appearance, at which he was informed of the charges against him. The crime of interfering with flight crew members and attendants carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison upon conviction.
