"This man should be with his family for Christmas. Now he's dead."

Latest from AP . . .

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3514066.html

Dec. 9, 2005, 9:46AM

Passengers: Traveler was agitated before boarding

By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

MIAMI — The airline passenger shot to death by federal marshals who said he made a bomb threat was agitated even before boarding and later appeared to be desperate to get off the plane, some fellow travelers said.

* * *

Some passengers, including John McAlhany, said they believe Alpizar was no threat to anyone.

McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker who was returning home from a fishing trip in Key West, said he was sitting in Seat 21C when he noticed a commotion a few rows back.

"I heard him saying to his wife, 'I've got to get off the plane,'" McAlhany said. "He bumped me, bumped a couple of stewardesses. He just wanted to get off the plane."

Alpizar ran up the aisle into the first-class cabin, where marshals chased him onto the jetway, McAlhany said.

McAlhany said he "absolutely never heard the word 'bomb' at all."

"The first time I heard the word 'bomb' was when I was interviewed by the FBI," McAlhany said. "They kept asking if I heard him say the B-word. And I said, 'What is the B-word?' And they were like, 'Bomb.' I said no. They said, 'Are you sure?' And I am."

* * *

"This was wrong," McAlhany said. "This man should be with his family for Christmas. Now he's dead."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3514066.html

Edit for flamier subject line.

David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said he thinks the shooting may prove more "reassuring than disturbing" to the traveling public his organization represents. "This is a reminder they are there and are protecting the passengers and that it is a seriously deadly business," he said.

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/12/09/ap/headlines/d8ecpt4g6.txt

I have had a gut feeling that there is a serious CYA effort underway to deal with a jet-lagged air marshall screw up.

I was on a plane once where a woman on the back of the plane had a panic attack and ran to the front of plane screaming "I have to get off"

That was pre 9/11 - no air marshals with guns

As for me, not so much and even less.

I don't trust the information we are getting from the feds on this one.

I think the Air Marshall fucked up badly and they are covering up this incident.

If a drunk guy stands up in the middle of the flight and yells, "If I don't get another drink, I'm going to fucking kill somebody!" will he get a dum-dum bullet between the eyes?

Posted by: Hoyt Pollard on December 9, 2005 at 10:22 AM | PERMALINK

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_12/007729.php

Interesting posts here.

on a plane to/from Las Vegas? Maybe it was shortly after 9-11. They restrained someone to death (standing on his neck, I think). So sometimes they're no better than trigger-happy air marshals.

Number of people killed by FAMs before this incident?

ZERO


That doesn't qualify as trigger-happy to me.

...Zero, right?

Most, you're not going to hear about. There HAVE been a few in the media ofer the past couple of years.

Among the interesting bits in this AP story is fact that wife works for nonprofit fosused on mental illness.

"Buechner works for the Council on Quality and Leadership based in Towson, Md., a nonprofit organization focused on improving life for people with disabilities and mental illness, the organization said in a statement."

Here is her bio on org's web site . . .

http://www.thecouncil.org/contact/102/anne-buechner

Staff Directory

Anne Buechner

As The Council on Quality and Leadership’s Florida’s Project Lead, Ms. Anne E. Buechner coordinates all CQL’s quality enhancement activities with our Florida partners. With more than 15 years of experience, Ms. Buechner creates opportunities to better support our partners and staff in ensuring that the people receiving services lead enriched and fulfilling lives.

CQL is the organization at the forefront of the movement to improve the quality of services and supports for people with disabilities and people with mental illness. CQL has been leading this effort for more than three decades. CQL’s fundamental belief
is that everyone has a right to a life of dignity, opportunity and community inclusion. CQL’s journey continues today with the daily work of establishing real connections between disabilities’ theory and practice.

Ms. Buechner works to maintain the vision of CQL through collaboration with our partners, support to our employees and through her public presence. Her focus remains enhancing personal and community quality of life for people with disabilities while strengthening partnerships to design, measure and evaluate creative, responsive and accountable systems of support.

Ms. Buechner graduated with a Bachelor’s of Art degree and has completed Public Administration Master’s Degree coursework at the University of Central Florida.

He LOOKS Arabic.

So - that's why they shot. Period.

So many in this country are so ignorant of any facts regarding anything foreign to them, I can see why these same people think it's a badge of honor to be a redneck.

:grr:

I sincerely believe that if he had been white, he would not be dead.

Sad for the family.

Trigger happy feds -- primed and ready to murder.

Try running back to the security checkpoint because the assholes misplaced your computer and then run back in time to make your flight -- watch the asshole fed start to reach for his gun.

Add to this all the stress that bushie has added to flying -- and flying is a royal pain in the butt.

I drive rather than fly -- over 4 thousand miles.

Bushie is responsible for the murder of this innocent man.

From USA today . . .


From Houston Chronicle . . .

There's a BIG difference.

Remember the Brazilian shot in London this summer? He wasn't 'arab,' either...but he was 'swarthy' by race profiling standards. That's sufficient enough reason in their minds to shoot first and ask questions later.

I'm no expert on racial physical features, and this guy does NOT look like he's of Middle Eastern heritige to me, though.

What's the problem?

Another sad and curious fact in this story is that Alpizar was singing "Go Down Moses" while waiting to get on plane . . .

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3514066.html

Some passengers said they noticed Alpizar while waiting to get on the plane. They said he was singing "Go Down Moses" as his wife tried to calm him. Others said they saw him having lunch and described him as restless and anxious, but not dangerous.

"The wife was telling him, 'Calm down. Let other people get on the plane. It will be all right,'" said Alan Tirpak, a passenger.

http://www.wftv.com/news/5503137/detail.html

Local Man Tells Different Story About Shooting At Miami Airport

POSTED: 4:13 pm EST December 9, 2005

WINTER PARK, Fla. -- A Central Florida man is trying to set the record straight. He said that Rigoberto Alpizar never shouted that he had a bomb. In fact, he said, he didn't say anything. The local traveler heard and saw the whole thing unfold and doesn't like how it's been depicted.

"I saw the air marshal with his gun, in the doorway, halfway in the plane, halfway out and he kept scanning the plane as well," Jorge Borelli said.

He had a great view of the air marshal on the aisle, nine rows back.

"He appeared very agitated and very nervous. He was obviously one of the air marshal's that shot the gentleman," Borelli said.

* * *

http://www.wftv.com/news/5503137/detail.html