Footage of the incident that led to Adam “Pacman” Jones’ arrest has been released.
via: NBC Sport
It’s hard to know whether it shows everything that happened, but nothing in the video posted by TMZ.com seems to justify kicking Jones off the plane or arresting him.
“I did not threaten anyone,” Pacman told TMZ.com. “I was not drunk. And, as the video clearly shows, I was the one who was mistreated.”
Pacman doesn’t seem to be impaired in the video. He’s confused about the news that he has to leave the plane. It seems that there likely was something more that occurred (or didn’t occur) before Jones was instructed to de-plane.
Regardless of whether he was agitated before another passenger began to capture evidence of the interaction, Jones definitely was agitated afterward. He repeatedly used the term “cracker” while objecting to the development and gathering his bags.
The situation apparently began when Jones was trying to charge his phone or his tablet in an outlet different from the one corresponding to his seat.
Still, there’s nothing on the video that would seem to support misdemeanor criminal charges of alcohol intoxication, disorderly conduct, and/or terroristic threatening. It’s hard to envision any of those counts being proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
It’s not hard to envision that this was possibly just another instance of an overly zealous airline employee abusing what little authority he or she actually has.
