An Ohio man is in serious trouble after a violent confrontation at an airline ticket counter resulted in him allegedly putting a police officer in a chokehold.
The shocking incident unfolded at the Spirit Airlines counter at Orlando International Airport on Tuesday. Police said 41-year-old Edward Hariston was part of an unruly group yelling at airline employees when an officer attempted to defuse the situation.
Some passengers had even gone behind the ticket counter.
It was then, according to video evidence, that Hariston struck an unidentified officer and put him in a chokehold. The officer was held so tightly that he reportedly began to “lose consciousness” before being rescued by his colleagues.
Hariston now faces one count of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, and disorderly conduct.
Officers attempted to intervene with the enraged passengers when the victim grabbed Hariston by the arm.
Bye bye Edward Hariston👋
Spirit Airlines' ticket counter fiasco results in man charged with attempted murder for putting cop in chokehold: report https://t.co/uXrchGqDKV via @nypost
— SuSu (@susandiego14) June 30, 2023
At that time the suspect was allegedly reaching over the counter and holding a computer keyboard.
In the arrest report, the attacked officer recounted that “we both fell onto the ground and Hariston put one of his arms around my neck in a chokehold and began to squeeze.”
He added he “began to get dizzy and immediately spotty” due to restriction of his airflow. He broke free as other officers arrived on the scene to assist him, and Hariston was arrested and transported to the hospital for evaluation.
One witness posted a video on TikTok and reported that their Spirit Airlines flight was canceled because of the fracas.
Another person on the scene, Neal Davis, told reporters that roughly 200 Spirit Airlines passengers were at the ticket counter and were upset. In reference to the attack on the police officer, Davis said, “to become irrational like that, it’s not right.”
Still another witness, Tina Woodford, described the situation as a mass of angry people. “We did see people get irritated and the workers getting irritated back at them, so I understand. It was just a bad situation.”
Though he will likely plead down from the attempted murder charge, it is also a bad situation for one Ohio traveler who lost all self-control.
