While the term "marshal" in aviation is usually associated with the officers disguised as travelers who go on some flights to be able to spring into action in an emergency, the United States Marshal Service is a separate law enforcement agency in charge of complex tasks such as protecting judges, capturing violent fugitives and seizing goods acquired through illegal activities.
A U.S. Marshal on a Delta Air Lines (DAL) -) flight to Heathrow Airport from New York's John F. Kennedy on Dec. 6 was arrested and charged by London’s Metropolitan Police for allegedly entering the aircraft while intoxicated and causing a disturbance.
Related: Another traveler has been arrested for trying to open plane door mid-flight
The crew of the flight had reportedly contacted the police with information that 39-year-old Michael Brereton allegedly "was disruptive and had sexually assaulted other passengers and crew."
Image source: Getty Images.
Delta says that it is 'cooperating with the investigation'
"Due to unruly passenger behavior while in flight, Delta Flight 1, JFK to London-Heathrow, was met by local law enforcement upon landing and Delta is cooperating with their investigation," the airline said in a statement on the incident. Local authorities received communication of the incident around 6 a.m. local time.
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While not much detail around his exact actions have been released to the press, Brereton is now scheduled to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Dec. 8 while another marshal who was traveling with him and allegedly contributed to the disruption was temporarily detained but has been cleared to return to the U.S.
Brereton was also arrested on suspicion of sexual assault but Metropolitan Police Service spokesperson Josh Coupe told USA Today that there would be no further action on that allegation.
Incident 'does not reflect the professionalism' of workers, Marshals Service says
The U.S. Marshal Service confirmed to media outlets that it was aware of this incident and takes seriously "any allegations of misconduct by its employees." Brereton was reportedly working in the Eastern District of New York.
"The U.S. Marshals Service takes seriously any allegations of misconduct by its employees," the Department of Justice branch said in a statement. "The alleged actions of the employees do not reflect the professionalism of the thousands of employees of the USMS or its core values."
While Brereton's status as a marshal helped give this case international attention, there has been a wider increase in the number of bad passenger behavior aboard planes in different countries.
An International Air Transport Association (IATA) report published in the summer showed that while there was one such person for every 835 flights in 2021, that number rose to one in 568 flights by 2022. Some of the most common behaviors include verbally abusing flight attendants, fighting with fellow passengers and disregarding anti-smoking and anti-vaping laws.
"The increasing trend of unruly passenger incidents is worrying," IATA Deputy Director General Conrad Clifford said in a July 2023 statement on the findings. "Passengers and crew are entitled to a safe and hassle-free experience on board.”
In the U.S., the FAA also announced that it would start cracking down on bad passenger behavior with a zero-tolerance policy that could earn even a one-time offender a permanent flying ban.
