A woman found herself in restraints for the second half of her flight to New York City on Sunday after leaving her seat and attacking a flight attendant for not picking up her garbage, a criminal complaint filed Monday detailed.
The alleged assault occurred midway through an American Airlines flight from Miami to New York. Chenasia Campbell, 28, is accused of striking a flight attendant several times and knocking the woman to the ground.
The complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York claims Campbell followed a flight attendant down the aisle and began arguing with her after no one picked up her garbage. A second attendant intervened and attempted to physically separate the woman and the first attendant, according to the criminal complaint.
That intervention escalated Campbell's actions, and that's when she allegedly punched the second flight attendant and pulled her hair. She briefly walked away and yelled at another passenger, before returning to the second attendant to yell obscenities, the complaint said.
Amid her shouting, the court document says Campbell yelled, "Cops aren't going to do anything to me," and then struck the flight attendant again with closed fists.
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An off-duty NYPD officer who was aboard the plane jumped in and placed Campbell in restraints for the remaining duration of the flight. She was taken off the plane and placed into police custody once it reached its final destination at JFK Airport.
The complaint states the injured flight attendant suffered several injuries -- including scrapes, bruises, and a strained neck -- but declined medical attention.
Campbell appeared via teleconference in federal court in Brooklyn Monday afternoon on federal charges of interfering with a flight crew. She was ordered released on a $15,000 bond with travel restrictions imposed.
Campbell's public defender, James Darrow, stated during the hearing that his client is currently participating in a state-run mental health treatment program. Darrow declined to comment to NBC New York.
