Thursday December 8, 2005
DOA at MIA
[Contributed by Steve Klotz]
The passenger’s name was Rigoberto Alpizar, and reportedly the last thing he did was reach towards the backpack he claimed contained a bomb. Air Marshals shot him dead: the very first fatal shooting by an Air Marshal.
“We’re very proud of our trained agents,” stated “Smitty” Wesson, spokesman for the Federal Air Marshal Program in Washington, D.C. “And of course, we’re simply thrilled that this historic event occurred in Miami International. What better venue could there be?
“Air Marshals are on the front line of the War on Terrorism,” he continued. “This action demonstrates that our agents are prepared to protect the American people and visitors to our shores from the bad guys out there who plot to take us down.”
Reporters pointed out that not only hadn’t a bomb been discovered, but the perpetrator’s behavior was attributed to his unmedicated bipolar condition.
“Irrelevant,” responded Wesson, tersely. “Besides, he won’t be needing his medication any longer now that we gave him his shots.”
But he wasn’t a terrorist. He was delusional. He needed a butterfly net, not 5 slugs in his ribcage. Marshals may have acted properly, but what you have here is a tragedy, not a cause for celebration.
“That’s pussy talk,” snapped Wesson. “If you act like a terrorist, and talk like a terrorist, have a funny accent, and look even vaguely swarthy and/or hairy, you’re a terrorist. That’s how we train our agents, and goddam if they didn’t come through this time. Ask the people on that flight and in that terminal if they think this guy wasn’t a terrorist. Damn betcha they’re happy the sonofabitch is carpet-crumple.”
The agents were not identified, of course, but Marshal Wesson noted that commendations would be placed in their files. “And we’re drafting a formal proclamation expressing acknowledgments to Miami International Airport for hosting this historic occasion,” he announced. “Another first! Miami should be very proud of itself. The whole world was watching, and once more the city’s reputation is the talk of nations.”
Update: Some alternative accounts of the whole thing, plus this fragment.
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Six months ago, Air Marshals pulled guns and grappled a colleague to the floor just for greeting me aboard a flight. “Hi, Jack!” he says, and the next thing he knows he’s on his ass looking up at a loaded gun. I tellya, these guys are out of control.
I think if you “cry bomb” in public, in the current environment, you’re pretty much askin’ to be shot up. They’re Air Marshals, not psychiatrists of the sky.
And that it happened Miami – eh… it happened on an airplane, in an airport, it could have been anywhere. It’s really more of a federal issue.
I’m definently with you on this one. It’s perhaps the most extreme example of a disturbing trend of a supression of Freedom of speech in the name of protection. I realize they had to do something, but using a lathel weapon seems quit extreme.
This is a tragic event, one that should not be made anything other than that, and definitely not a joke about the brutality of the TSA and fascist regulators of post-911 travel. But two questions: If the TSA are on international flights, do they know any languages other than English? Might have saved his life…..
and why, WHY, WHY, if you are bipolar, or are related to someone with that condition, WHY are you not taking your meds?
They could use the taser guns they’re using on little kids to get the “bad guys”. These people are going out of control!!!!!!!
I lost someone to suicide via bipolar disorder earlier this year. The DSM barely distinguishes between BPD and schizophrenia except in regards to the level of functioning. Basically, if you’re hallucinating and going through cycles of mania and depression, but you can deal with it, you’re bipolar. Otherwise, you’re schizophrenic. Hypomanics are charming, flirtatious, and charismatic. Commonly they have substance abuse problems. If they can’t keep themselves on their medications, it is extremely difficult to do it for them.
That said, air marshalls were facing down someone claiming to have a bomb and refusing to follow instructions. In the time it took for Alpilar to reach into his bag, they had to decide whether he constituted a real threat. If he was, dozens could have been killed, including the marshalls. I have to admit that I probably would have shot him too.
This was a sad event for everyone involved.
And what would constitute a “funny accent” in Miami-Dade County? Is anyone else NOT surprised that out of the entire US, this would happen at MIA?
Why did it take me nearly half the “interview” before I realized it was a parody? Something about the times we live in, I think.
Minor point…the badge is the old one when the FAA had the program…TSA now overseers the Air Marshal Program.
I suppose if an irregular-acting guy would have reached for the bag and indeed pulled out a bomb, then thrown it in the direction of a packed airplane, all because Marshalls gave him the benefit of the doubt, then you all would be here criticizing Miami to no end.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
there’s a fine line between a troublemaker and someone with bipolar disorder; the behavior of either can be influenced by physical punishment. the real point is that if you act this way, you get shot. how sorry we “should” feel for Alpizar is academic. for me, this is less tragic then when british police popped that brazilian guy a few months back, because his “suspicious behaviour” was much more in their little heads.
in a way i want to feel safer, knowing that potential terrorists got a chance to see that the air marshalls are not fucking around. but no: no real terrorist would actually act that way. if you really want to blow up a plane, you take something to calm you down, and don’t draw attention to yourself.
the fucked up thing is that in 2001, terrorists killed 3,000 people in the US. in the same period, heart disease killed over a hundred thousand. but we’re going to spend billions of dollars “securing our homeland,” and the result is this – what a scientist would call a “false positive.” meanwhile, blowing up a plane is one of several hundred ways that terrorists can hurt us, most of which we haven’t done anythign about, and couldn’t, even if we wanted to.
btw, the wrong badge was my fault, not steve's. i've changed it; thanks, rick.
I don’t disagree that the shooting event is a tragedy: whenever fatalities occur in the name of law enforcement, society as a whole suffers. Nevertheless, our agents conducted themselves in strict accordance with their training: Observe, Conclude, Intervene, Prevent. Had the perpetrator not committed threatening behavior—talking about a bomb, reaching for his backpack—he would have been seized and restrained, not shot.
But there is no rewind button, and there is damn little time to make a decision that could affect the lives of hundreds or thousands of people. This is not a freedom of expression issue, any more than hollering “Fire” in a crowded theater is. This was protecting the innocent in world grown cautious regarding terrorism.
That noted, in fact Senor Perp-o was a swarthy little loudmouth with a funny accent, very much like the Brazilian terrorist the British constables ran down like a rabid dog and shot to death, easily mistaken for a genuine Honest-to- Allah terrorist, so lay off. Besides, no self-respecting citizen of the nation’s dicktip where you-all reside would want any other airport to claim the honor of the first Air Marshal shooting fatality since 9/11, now would you.
It is an honor to be of service to this great country, and I thank you for your sincere expressions of support.
It’s a small point,
but has anybody noticed
that the official Federal Air Marshal Program website
spells “marshal” with a double-l,
while everywhere else the word has only one?
Is this significant?
“Swarthy?” Maybe he just had a good suntan.
“If you act like a terrorist, and talk like a terrorist, have a funny accent, and look even vaguely swarthy and/or hairy, you’re a terrorist. That’s how we train our agents.”
Funny. I always thought that anyone could be a terrorist. I guess I didn’t realize only hairy people were terrorists…