Actress Salma Blair arrested after altercation on board a plane - Sarmad
Salma Blair accused of assaulting flight attendants, a police officer, and a nurse on a Delta flight, with her representative citing a medical emergency.
Translated by Qiyas from سرمد — Original source
Actress Salma Blair was arrested after being accused of injuring two flight attendants during a flight from Los Angeles to New York. She was also charged with kicking a police officer who was escorting her to the hospital and with kicking a nurse after her arrival.
Blair pleaded not guilty to two state assault charges related to the officer and the nurse.
She also faces separate federal charges stemming from the incident on board the plane, which her representatives say resulted from a severe medical emergency.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement that police detained Blair, 54, around 11 p.m. after a Delta Air Lines flight stopped at the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The authority added that Blair and one crew member were taken to the hospital for medical evaluation and testing.
The airline, police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is leading the investigation, did not immediately release details about what happened on the plane.
However, Delta said in a statement that it “has zero tolerance for disruptive or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.”
A representative for Blair told The Associated Press that the actress experienced a medical emergency that led to the alleged behavior.
Her attorney, Shawn Barnes, told the judge that her actions were not intentional. The New York Daily News and the New York Post reported that he said the actress, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, had not taken several doses of a “strong medication that controls severe neurological symptoms.”
He added that she boarded the flight in Los Angeles after a grueling work period and that her head struck something during the flight. He said these factors, along with the altitude, led to a “severe state of confusion and disorientation.”
The judge set her bail at $20,000 cash or a $60,000 bond, and scheduled the next hearing for January. Blair left the courthouse with her attorney.
