US Marshal arrested for unruly behavior during flight to London

London’s Metropolitan Police arrested a 39-year-old deputy US Marshal at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday morning for acting inappropriately while intoxicated on a flight from New York, the US Marshals Service said.

Police in London said they received reports from staff on an inbound Delta flight around 6:30 a.m. local time “that a passenger was causing a disturbance and sexually assaulting other passengers and crew.”

Police said he was taken into custody, where he remained as of Thursday morning as the investigation continued.

Delta said that due to “unruly behavior by passengers during the flight, Delta Flight 1, JFK to London Heathrow, was met upon landing by local law enforcement, and that Delta is cooperating with their investigation,” but declined to provide more information.

The man was one of two marshals on the flight to London, the Marshals Service said. The second marshal was briefly detained but has since returned to the United States.

The Marshals Service’s duties include apprehending federal fugitives, housing and transporting federal prisoners, and administering the Witness Security Program.

“The US Marshals Service takes all allegations of misconduct by its employees seriously,” the agency said in a statement. “The employees’ alleged actions do not reflect the professionalism of the thousands of USMS employees or its core values.”

Airlines saw an increase in unruly behavior on flights during the pandemic, although much of that focused on mask policies. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, disruptive airborne episodes peaked in 2021 with nearly 6,000 incidents – a 492 percent increase over the previous year. Shaky cellphone footage of fights and insults on planes became a staple on social media.

The numbers dropped in 2022 after mask mandates ended, with a total of 2,455 recorded incidents. The numbers dropped again in 2023, with 1,931 incidents reported so far, the FAA said