Nashville airport officials refuse to answer questions after officers threaten arrests

Nashville airport officials have repeatedly declined to answer questions after a viral video showed airport police threatening to arrest Southwest Airlines customers with canceled flights.

The Tennessean emailed questions about the officers in the video and requested an interview with David Griswold, who is listed on the airport website as its chief of police and assistant vice president. In response, Nashville International Airport spokesperson Paul Lindsley referred to the statement the airport released Wednesday.

"With the high number of flights impacted at BNA on Sunday evening, travelers were asked to visit the pre-security ticketing counters for help to rebook flights," part of the statement said. "We understand and appreciate the frustrations travelers may have, and we are working to provide the best passenger experience for all."

Lindsley said Thursday that the airport would not comment further on the matter or grant an interview with Griswold at this time.

However, after this story was published Friday, Lindsley sent an additional statement to the Tennessean. The statement included an apology but provided little information about the incident.

"The extraordinary number of flight cancellations over the last week caused great stress for our travelers, and included an unfortunate incident involving a passenger, airline staff, and a BNA officer. We are deeply sorry that this occurred and have taken this situation to heart," Lindsley said in the statement. He added that the airport had 1,372 canceled flights this holiday season, an "unprecedented" number that impacted 160,000 passengers.

Video shows Nashville airport officers threaten to arrest stranded Southwest customers for trespassing

The viral video stirred questions about what authority the officers had and how the situation was handled.

It showed an officer approaching people standing in line at a service desk on Christmas night inside an airport concourse. The officer said those with canceled tickets needed to leave the secured area and go to a pre-security ticket desk for help. He proceeded to tell them they would be arrested for trespassing if they did not leave.

Editorial: Questions Southwest, Nashville airport must answer after failing and intimidating travelers

That sparked a conversation between the officer and Shelley Morrison, who was traveling with her three children. Her daughter, Amani Robinson, a 20-year-old Nashville resident and Tennessee State University student, filmed the interaction. The video went viral on TikTok and across social media.

Before the officers arrived, Morrison said, a Southwest Airlines employee announced over the intercom that the employee was leaving and security had been called. That left one worker to handle the long line of people. Nobody told the people waiting they had to leave or go to another desk, Morrison said.

Southwest Airlines spokesperson Chris Perry told The Tennessean the company commonly relies on law enforcement officers to assist with crowd control, and customer and employee safety. Perry did not have information about what happened at the Nashville airport on Dec. 25.

Lawyer: Nashville airport police response was 'clearly inappropriate'

Nashville criminal defense lawyer David Raybin called the airport police response in this situation "clearly inappropriate." He has practiced law for nearly 50 years and has represented people arrested by airport police. However, he said he has never seen someone arrested for trespassing after having a canceled flight.

"These people were there lawfully," Raybin said.

Airport police have full law enforcement authority.

"They're not rent-a-cops," Raybin said. "They're not guards."

The airport's Department of Public Safety is a fully independent agency and not associated with the Metro Nashville Police Department, an MNPD spokesperson confirmed.

Based on his understanding, Raybin said what happened at the airport on Christmas night did not rise to the level of criminal trespassing. If someone became belligerent or made threats, airport police would have grounds to take action, he said.

"The rules are much different once you're in the secured area, because your behavior has to be consistent with security issues," Raybin said. "There was nothing that these people were doing that would constitute any kind of breach of the peace or any kind of bad behavior."

Raybin said it also would have been reasonable, given the circumstances, for the airport to close certain areas and disperse large crowds for security reasons. But usually that happens in an orderly, calm manner, he said.

Rabyin called the space between when a person's flight is canceled and when they are no longer allowed in the secured section of the airport a "gray area." Just because a flight is canceled does not always mean travelers have no other options to get on another flight, he said.

"That is more than enough legitimate reason to be back there and most assuredly does not constitute criminal trespassing," Raybin said. "I think that the officer was acting very inappropriately, clearly without sensitivity."

Raybin also said it was not appropriate for the officers to engage individuals in the group, like Morrison. Instead he said it would be best to direct the group as a whole, move them to where they needed to be and readmit those with valid tickets.

"As you target people, one at a time, you could be making mistakes," Raybin said. "You just don't go in there and start cherry-picking people in this line or that line unnecessarily. The police are supposed to be there to help regulate safety and accommodate people who are just trying to get home."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville airport won't answer questions after video threatening arrests