A new lawsuit says American Airlines jails wrong man and the details are shocking. Worse, another criminal is still out on the loose.
The lawsuit alleges Michael Lowe was arrested in New Mexico during a celebration with friends. Local police were called to investigate a disturbance and ended up arresting Lowe not for the party, but an outstanding warrant from Tarrant County, Texas.
“Mr. Lowe’s confusion was profound – he did not know where Tarrant County, Texas was and could not even remember the last time he was in the state,” the lawsuit, filed Monday, says. Tarrant County, located west of Dallas, includes the cities of Fort Worth and Arlington.
Lowe said he was not informed for seventeen days the nature of his arrest. He called those seventeen days and nights at the Quay County Detention Center “excruciating.” His only connection to Tarrant County was on a layover flight through Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport.
Now, Lowe is suing American Airlines, saying negligence by American and its employees leds to his improper arrest.
Dallas Fort Worth Airport Incident
In May 2020, a burglar broke into a duty-free store at Dallas Fort Worth airport. Surveillance cameras show the suspect boarding American Airlines flight 2248 (AA2248).
Lowe was on the flight, AA2248, to Reno, Nevada, but denied burglarizing the duty-free store.
Surveillance photos show a suspect wearing different clothing and a different hairstyle.
Airport police asked American Airlines for a passenger manifest for AA2248. The airline provided only one suspect: Michael Lowe.
Lowe Lawsuit
“American Airlines could have provided its entire manifest for the flight or a list of all individuals who matched a certain description (ex: all white males over eighteen and under 65). American Airlines also could have performed an adequate search to identify the correct suspect and provide his information to law enforcement. Instead, American Airlines affirmatively and wrongfully identified Mr. Lowe as the single suspect of the DFW Airport PD’s felony investigation which foreseeably led to Mr. Lowe being arrested and imprisoned for a crime he was innocent of,” the lawsuit reads in part.
Lowe’s court filing he describes the threat of violence from other incarcerated persons. His suit also allegees risk of catching COVID19. This was due to crowded cell conditions at the New Mexico detention facility.
After seventeen days, a guard told him he was being released.
“Sometime after Mr. Lowe’s release from jail, Detective Torres obtained Mr. Lowe’s mug shot from Quay County and compared it to the photos of the culprit; it was obvious that American Airlines had the wrong person,” per Lowe’s lawsuit.
The charges were dismissed, but the lawsuit describes Lowe as a “changed man.”
Scott Palmer, Lowe’s attorney, told local media he places the blame on the airline. “I blame American,” he said. “Without American doing what they did, (the detective) never would have issued a warrant. It all starts with the disclosure of his name and his name only.”
Lowe is seeking damages for the emotional distress of wrongful arrest, as well as his lost wages and income as a result of his detainment.
American Airlines Jails Wrong Man – Not Only Incident
The lawsuit comes as American Airlines is hit by American Idol start Kacey Musgraves with a complaint of appalling behavior by a male flight crew member.
American Airlines staff would not comment for Other Side Dallas.
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