'Everyday heroes': Exeter police honor Jeff Neil for stopping erratic airline passenger

EXETER — Jeff Neil, the resident credited with helping tackle a passenger who allegedly tried to stab a flight attendant on a recent United Airlines flight, was honored by his hometown police Friday.

The Exeter Police Department presented Neil with a Citizen Award for his actions aboard Flight 2609 on March 5.

Police Chief Stephan Poulin honored Neil at the Town Offices with a crystal plaque, praising him for stepping up to subdue a passenger who was acting erratically, making threats toward passengers and staff, and allegedly attempted to open a cabin exit door and tried to stab a flight attendant.

“This is when another passenger on the plane exemplified what it means to be both a hero and a leader. That person was Jeff Neil of Exeter, who was sitting with his wife and just wanted to get home,” Poulin said.

Neil attended the ceremony with his wife, Libby, along with members of the police and fire departments, the town Select Board, and other town officials and community members.

“Mr. Neil’s actions that day are a reminder that everyday heroes live among us, here in Exeter and in communities all across the globe. They quietly go about their daily lives, but when a crisis unexpectedly presents itself and they feel compelled to act, they will respond without hesitation,” Poulin said.

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Poulin said Neil demonstrated several important qualities and skills needed to be a public safety leader.

“Ensuring public safety requires the ability to assess potential hazards within the community – in this case a community aboard a plane – and determine how to eliminate or avoid risks," Poulin said. "Proper planning and communication are other skills which also happened very fast in this case, but could have also been something that Mr. Neil drew upon from his past training and experiences. And ultimately we have the importance of executing the plan. The first act of Mr. Neil stepping up to the threat showed what we refer to as command presence or command authority. Then by quickly executing the containment of the threat, Mr. Neil led his ‘team’ - the other members on the plane - and remained calm throughout the crisis."

Previous story:Exeter man called hero after helping tackle passenger

Neil doesn’t consider himself a hero, but acknowledged the significance of the event.

“I truly was in the right place at the right time,” he said.

Saying he had his “moment” and was speechless, Neil expressed his appreciation to the Police Department for the recognition.

“This is my home. I’ve lived here for 15-plus years. This is where I raised my kids. Having the chief of police recognizing me, I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I didn’t expect more than two to three people here, including my wife and myself,” said Neil, a former bouncer who now works for a software company and volunteers as chairman of the board of directors for the Exeter Area YMCA.

Libby said she wasn’t at all surprised her husband jumped into action.

“We both knew that he would be getting up,” she said.

While she feared he would be injured during the ruckus on the flight, she knew her husband was determined to take action.

“It was scary, but I really commend everyone on the flight. They were calm,” said Libby, who works as a paraprofessional at Main Street School.

Like her husband, Libby was also appreciative of the support following the incident. “We knew we lived in a good community,” she said, “and this just reinforces that.”

Update on the in-flight incident where Jeff Neil responded

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, of Leominster, Massachusetts, was arrested and accused of attacking a flight attendant and attempting to open the door of United Airlines Flight 2609. The plane was about 45 minutes from Boston when the crew noticed the door handle had been moved out of the fully locked position.

Investigators said Torres admitted knowing that if he opened the door many people would die. He awaits a mental health evaluation.

In the video, Torres can be seen loudly threatening to kill people and promising a “bloodbath” before saying he was “taking over this plane” and stepping into the aisle.

Seated one row back, Neil immediately jumped up and tried to calm Torres and defuse the situation.

Prosecutors say Torres approached two flight attendants and attacked one of them. Neil and several other passengers rushed to the attendant's aid and tackled Torres, then held him down until the flight got to Boston.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter NH: Jeff Neil honored by police for heroics on United flight