Drunk Off-Duty Policeman Removed From Allegiant Air Flight

An allegedly inebriated off-duty Florida police officer was arrested on charges of battery and trespassing at an airport in Sarasota, reports said Saturday.

Derrick Gilbert, 51, was trying to board an Allegiant Air flight to Greensboro, North Carolina, from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport on Friday evening when he allegedly became aggressive with an airline employee and then refused to leave the area.

Gilbert was finally removed from the flight, Allegiant Air Flight 834, and deputies were called at around 6.30 p.m. EST to escort him off the premises. Officers found Gilbert and his 18-year-old son standing with Allegiant Air employees in the terminal ramp.

According to a report on WFLA, an NBC-affiliated television station, Gilbert had bloodshot eyes at the time and smelt of alcohol. He refused to leave the area and was yelling profanities at the airline employees, the report added.

The employees informed the officers the airline had a zero-tolerance policy for intoxicated passengers and Gilbert was removed from the flight as he was deemed too intoxicated to fly. Employee statements said Gilbert was slurring his speech and seemed unable to find his seat while on the aircraft.

Witnesses said Gilbert pushed a 25-year-old Allegiant Air employee, Kelby Oats, as he was leaving the plane. He then proceeded to push his own son who was trying to get him to leave and grabbed the boy “by the neck in an angry manner.” Reports said officers informed Gilbert he would need to leave the airport or be arrested for trespassing. He refused and said since he was a police officer, he could not be arrested.

Allegiant Air confirmed the flight in question was delayed by nine minutes at the airport, but refused to comment on the incident as the investigation was still ongoing. Fox News reported no one was injured in the incident. Gilbert was charged for trespassing, battery and domestic battery, it added.

"We hold our officers to the highest standard of both professionalism on and off duty," Sarasota Police Chief DiPino said. "I’ve instructed our Internal Affairs Division to conduct a thorough investigation. We will diligently investigate this incident per our policies."

Gilbert was taken to Pinellas County Jail on bond totaling $1,400, according to a report in Bradenton Herald. The Sarasota Police department said an internal investigation was underway and Gilbert will be placed on paid administrative leave after he’s released from jail.

According to a department spokeswoman, Gilbert, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, was assigned to the patrol division. He had been with the Sarasota Police Department for 21 years, and was suspended in 2012 after he was caught on camera slamming a homeless man face-first into a wall during an arrest.

Reports said the homeless man had his head split open from the impact and was taken to the hospital to get stitches. Gilbert was let off for the incident when an internal investigation found no wrongdoing from his part.