A Washington woman is facing public intoxication charges after a profanity-filled rant at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, where video captured her screaming at police and demanding to speak to the “manager of the f—ing airport.”
Terre Ann Bluse, 62, of Carson, Wash., was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, search or transport, possession of marijuana under two ounces, possession of a dangerous drug and public intoxication, according to the May 25 incident report obtained by Global News.
Bluse allegedly tried to rush the doors of an American Airlines flight after she was denied boarding, according to the report. American Airlines staff tried to stop her and another passenger pushed her away, causing her to trip over the airline staffer’s foot and fall, the report says.
The now-viral video picks up after the initial incident at the boarding doors, with a police officer speaking face-to-face with the unmasked woman.
“Bluse was being very irate and aggravated when I was trying to get her to calm down,” the officer said in his incident report. He added that she “was sweating profusely, breathing heavy and her eyes were red, bloodshot and glassy.”
In the video, Bluse shouts her full name at the officer and claims she was “choked” or “thrown” to the ground.
“I want the manager of the f—ing airport here!” she shouts at the officer. Bluse then storms away from the gate and tries to solicit support from other passengers who are waiting to board.
“Who saw him choke me to the ground?” she says in the video. “Who saw me?”
“I saw you run through the door when you weren’t supposed to,” says the man recording the video, who appears to be sitting near the gate.
“He choke holded me to the ground!” she shouts back at the man. “I am a woman in a dress!” she adds, seemingly referring to the skirt she is wearing.
“Boo hoo,” the man says. “Boo hoo.”
The woman tells the man to “f— off” and then repeats her call. “I want the manager of the airport here!”
A second clip shows Bluse being taken into custody after removing her sweater. “Please someone film this!” she says in the video.
The suspect allegedly went limp and used her “dead weight” to resist arrest, according to the report. Officers “had to pick her up by her feet and shoulders” to get her into a police car.
The woman allegedly told police that she’d had two margaritas at the airport bar. The receipt for those margaritas was included in the incident report.
“Bluse stated that she did not take any medication and had no health conditions,” the report said.
Officers searched her belongings and recovered a pipe and a “green leafy substance” said to be marijuana, according to the report. They also found tizanidine, which is a muscle relaxer; naproxen, which is a painkiller and anti-inflamatory; gabapentin, which is used to treat epilepsy; and diclofenac sodium, which is used for joint pain relief. All four drugs are authorized by the FDA. Marijuana is fully legal in the suspect’s home state of Washington but not in Texas, where she was arrested, or in Louisiana, where her flight was bound.
The other passenger involved in the incident told police that he did not put the suspect in a chokehold. “I pushed her back,” he said, according to the incident report. Another American Airlines customer representative also said that the passenger pushed the woman away.
The flight from Dallas to Shreveport, La., was 35 minutes late, records show.
American Airlines referred questions about the incident to the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
The initial video captured millions of views on social media last week, although it was incorrectly tagged at the Indianapolis Airport.
The woman was dubbed “Airport Karen” on social media — an internet meme referring to a white woman who raises her trivial complaints with someone in authority, such as a manager.
“Karens always want the manager,” rapper Ice-T tweeted.
The airport does not have a manager, but it does have a CEO. There is no indication that he spoke to her before or after her arrest.
Comments