Drunk Woman Dragged Off Plane Groped Flight Attendant: Cops

Let go of my hands. I walk. >> Let go of my You're hurting me. That. hurts. >> More trouble at the airport. A woman. allegedly gets kicked off a plane, allegedly [music] sexually batters an. employee, gets arrested. This is all on. body cam footage, and we're going to. break down every moment of it for you. [music] right now. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse. Weber. [music]. Let me tell you something. And if you. think the crime stories I cover are. scary, wait until you hear what's. happening with your personal data.

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experts will personally remove them. So. if you care about protecting yourself. online, take your privacy back with. incogn. Use code sidebar for 60% off an. annual plan. This started as a routine. flight out of Salt Lake City. That is. until police say a visibly intoxicated. passenger was pulled off a Delta plane. and arrested inside the airport. And. now, newly released police reports and. body cam footage are giving us our first. clear look at what officers say happened.

on the Jet Bridge, including an alleged. sexual battery involving a Delta. employee, a chaotic arrest in the. terminal, and a confrontation that just. spiraled very, very quickly. Police. identified the passenger as 31-year-old. Cody Sierra Marie Burn. Now, according. to police, Burn was asked to move seats. because of her intoxication. Instead, they claim it escalated very quickly. from verbal abuse to a physical struggle. to an allegation that she grabbed an. airline employees breast while trying to.

leave the terminal. And the body cam. footage that I mentioned that captures. the moment that this all seemingly boils. over. >> Hey, ma'am. Ma'am, ma'am, chill. >> Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. of my hands and I will walk with you. Let go of my hands and I walk away. >> Let go of my You're hurting me. That. hurts. >> Okay, so what happened? Well, court. records say this all took place on. October 2nd at Salt Lake City.

International Airport just as passengers. were boarding a Delta flight that was. headed to Portland. Now, police say. airline staff were concerned about Burn, that they believe she was intoxicated, and that they asked supervisors to move. her from an emergency exit row. But as. they were escorting her to a new seat, officers say she shoulder checked a. Delta employee and knocked her down. The. pilot then comes out, orders her removed. from the flight. And that is when police. say they claim Burn tried to run through.

a secure area on the jet bridge and. assaulted the employee again. This time, they say, allegedly grabbing her by the. neck, her hair, and then her breast. Now, here's the thing. She was later. found in the terminal, not trying to. hail a cab, not trying to get out of. there, attempting to book another. flight. And that is where officers. stepped in and made the arrest, but. reportedly she tried to resist. The. charges here include sexual battery, assault, interference with a police.

officer, public intoxication. The woman. denies grabbing the employee. She does. seemingly confirm though that she had. been drinking earlier in the day. So, what we're going to do is we're going to. break down what police claim happened. because what began as a flight delay. quickly turned into a criminal case and. the footage honestly makes it impossible. to ignore. Now, to be clear about. something, by the time this body cam. footage starts rolling and police arrive. on scene, police say the Delta agent had. already reported the alleged sexual. battery on the jet bridge and officers.

have located Cody Sierra Marie Burn in. the terminal near the Alaska Airlines. counter. So, they move in fast and she. immediately seemingly demands to know. why she's being arrested. >> I was drunk this morning. >> What? Hang on. No. For what? >> Hey, don't tense up. Let me see your. phone. Let me see your phone. >> What? >> Turn around. Put your hands behind your. back. >> Put your hands behind your back. Relax. >> For what? >> Relax. Arrest for what?

>> See here in a second. >> No, I would like to No, >> we'll let you know here in a second. Relax. Relax. >> Relax. >> Relax or you're going to get put on the. ground. Relax or you going to get put on. the ground? >> Push that ground. >> What? >> Relax. >> Arrest for what? >> Can you tell me what I'm being arrested. for? >> Yep. >> You tell me now. >> I'll tell you when we're ready. >> No, that's not how it works. >> It does actually.

840. We got our 1082 up here at Alaska. on third floor. >> 41 female 1082. >> What am I being arrested for? >> For assault. >> For assault. >> Yes. >> For who? >> For a Delta employee. >> Can you quit quit cranking the wrist? You need to.

>> You need to walk. >> No, you need to relax. >> If you walk, you won't be. >> I'm a massage therapist. You need to. pump the brakes. >> I'm not pumping. >> You need to walk. >> I will walk if you relax. >> Okay. We're not going to play games with. you today. You're only going to get. >> Oh my god. >> You're going to get yourself, >> please. >> You're intoxicated. >> You're going to get yourself in more. trouble if you hurt my face. therapy. >> We're holding on to make sure you don't. fall down. >> That is not true. Yes, it is. >> You need to let go. You need. >> Hey, keep walking. Keep walking.

>> Hey, [screaming]. ma'am. Ma'am, ma'am, chill. >> Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. Stand. up. Let go of my hands. >> and I will walk with you. Let go of my. hands and I will walk. >> Let go of my You're hurting me. That. hurts. >> You've already. with me. >> I will walk with you. Let go of my. hands. >> I don't trust you. >> That hurt. OH MY GOD. YOU'RE HURTING ME. >> It's only going to get worse. Stand up. >> You need to let go, please.

>> Please let go. >> That hurt. >> We are too. >> That hurts me. Please let go. >> Walk. Please. >> I will walk if you let go of my hands. Thank you. Sweet. Really? Oh my god. >> Relax. >> I'm a massage. >> I am relaxed. >> But the his grip was not okay. >> Bring it down a little bit. >> Oh, you would love that, wouldn't you? >> We're h we're happy to help you out. We're here to make sure that you stay. safe, but we got to investigate this. You're under arrest right now. So, just. relax. >> So, at this point, officers are trying. to walk Burn out of the terminal, but.

she keeps seemingly insisting she'll. cooperate if they let her go. Police say. they can't because she's resisting, at. risk of falling, and the struggle. appears to continue as they move her. through the airport. >> I need Thank you. That's all I needed. That's all I need. >> Good. All right. Good. >> It's just. You. >> work with us, we'll work with you. >> That's That was not okay.

Ow. Okay. Okay. We need to adjust. We. need to adjust position. >> Adjust what? >> Can I just go right there? >> No. Can we go in front? >> Nope. No. >> All right. Can you let go, please? You're not. >> No, we can't let go of you. >> You're hurting my. >> arm. >> Rotator cuff. >> Rotator cuff. >> Yes. >> It might be your backpack. How about we. take your backpack off? >> Okay. I would like to face forward. I'm. not going to run. >> I need to stop. Stop.

>> Currently at the bottom of the. escalators on level two. >> Can you Before we get on the escalator, I need to move. I need to move. Let me. go. >> I will I will go under arrest. >> But let me go. For. >> your safety, we can't let you go cuz. you're a little bit in. If you fall. down, that's on me. >> I need to go forward. I need to go. forward. >> I copy and you're heading towards track. I need to have. >> That's where my car is. We're going to. put her in there for now. >> I need to go forward. Rotate cuff.

>> Take you down the elevator. >> Yeah. >> Rotator cuff. >> Can you Do you understand how the muscle. groups work? >> I do not. >> This is not okay. I need to go forward. Can you pause and reassess. >> as a police officer? >> Walk. >> No, we're not going to just walk. >> We're just walking. >> This is hurting my rotator. We're just. walking. >> I will gladly be under arrest, but I. need to go forward. I need to go. forward. >> This is hurtful. This is hurtful for me.

>> Can you No, I need to go. My arms need. to go forward. I'm. >> not going forward. Babe, stay behind. your back. >> Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm under arrest. >> for speaking up for myself. >> You guys film this. Salt Lake City doesn't give a. >> All right. Cool. >> Okay. Light like light like light like. light like light like light like light. like light like light like light like. light.

>> Jesus Christ. I got drunk this morning. cuz I got broken up with and you're. arresting me. >> Only because of your actions. >> What about your actions? >> What about them? >> You're hurting me. >> I'm not doing anything. >> Yes, you are. I told you multiple times. Let go of my wrist. >> I let go of your wrist. >> You're not. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Can you I want I want the best. punishment. Kill me. Take me to the ice.

Wow. You guys are hunker to the core. Huh? >> Goodness. >> Yikes. Lady. Lady. >> Yeah. >> A lady. >> Are you not? >> Oh my god. Where are we going? >> To the police car. >> Let's run. Can we just let me go? Oh my. god. Wait a video. This is like actually. >> you're definitely on video. >> Can you switch me to lobby? >> All right.

>> All right. This is a closet. >> That way. Let's go this way. >> These are mine. I'll move them. >> Okay. >> Did you switch my locations? >> I figured they'd be safe. >> Okay. Now, once they get Burn away from. the crowds, officers, they shift into. procedure. They search her. They secure. her belongings. They prepare to place. her in a patrol car. But even here, the. confrontation doesn't cool off. >> Let's Let's Let's do a quick search on. her. Make sure she got everything.

>> Quick search. Yeah. Check my backpack, please. >> We will. pull that pull that back. That should. >> all of my. >> Easier said than done, brother. Pull some equipment. Wow, this is some serious. Okay, cool. >> There's drugs and everything. >> Come out, bro. >> I put I put fascism. I put everything.

>> No, >> no, no. That's not fair. Thank you. Thank you. >> Just let it go. Let it go. >> Let it go. Put me in the car. talking. because of her behavior. >> Yeah, I'm not worried about that though. >> Thank you. No cuts necessary. Can you. quit that? >> Listen, if we take your cuff off real. quick and get your backpack off, are you. going to find No, I don't. >> Yes. >> All right. >> Listen. Hey, we are.

>> Stop cutting my backpack. >> My backpack. That's a power trip. >> Relax. >> Go ahead. Don't tell me to relax. That's. a power trip. >> I will tell you to relax cuz you need to. relax. >> That's a power trip. You know it is. >> Relax. >> Okay, there we go. >> Oh, my my bomb patch backpack.

>> All right. Take me to the jail. Take me. to jail. Please. You're in the car already. there. >> Good. >> It's coming. Don't worry.

>> Okay. >> Let it go. Let it go. >> Just relax. Sit down, >> Henley. on the base. You got it. >> The 8460 attachment to 843. >> in this morning. >> Yes. >> That was like 12 hours ago. >> Have you ever gone through a bad. breakup? You got a little drunk.

>> That's fine. And I love that for you. I. got a little drunk this morning cuz I. got abused from my partner and I drank. about it. >> So that was my. >> That's not helping you right now. That's. what I'm trying to explain. That's mine. >> I had most of the description right. except for the the black tank top which. I thought was olive which.

>> probably because of the I remember the. backpack being. >> Yeah, >> definitely. >> It was close enough. Right. Okay. >> I saw her and I knew exactly what was. the shovel like did go away. >> Yeah. Can we just call to my. >> She must have just bypass the whole. >> Okay. Well, you're not in the position. You're not in the position to make. demands. I'll just. >> I'm not doing it today. >> Sounds like it.

>> This is a whole demanding. Can I call my. mom? >> We'll let you do a call, but not right. now. >> Can I call your mom right now? Nope. Please move my hair out.

You have something to say. I was drunk this morning. Yeah. I tried. to go a flight. Yeah. What am I being. under arrest for? >> We told you. >> what? >> We told you assault. You're under arrest. for assault. >> For who? >> You assaulted a Delta employee. So. that's why we're here. And you're under. arrest for that. >> Why not? Wait, what? >> We could probably throw on a resisting. arrest. >> You are probably That is actually not a.

probable cause. >> That is probable cause actually. >> And it's not on video, so more like dead. rights, but whatever. as well. >> Wait, I'm sorry. This is a misation. >> By the time that exchange ends, Cody. Sierra Marie Burn is in handcuffs headed. toward a patrol car, still arguing, still insisting she's being mistreated. while officers repeatedly tell her she's. under arrest for assault. But the body. cam only shows us how this arrest.

unfolded, not whether police had the. legal footing to do what they did, or. how serious these allegations actually. are. That's what we want to talk about. now. All right, I want to bring in. somebody who has handled both sides of. cases like this. We're joined in studio. by Florina Alshiler, a former. prosecutor, by the way, from Alaska, talking Alaska Airlines, by the way, and. now a criminal defense attorney. Uh, it's great to see you. Thank you so much. for taking the time. Um, you've watched. the whole body cam uh video here. What. stands out to you, maybe from a human. point of view, but also from a legal.

point of view? >> Well, she does appear to be a little bit. belligerent and drunk. Um, but this. really isn't the crime of the century. here. She was belligerent. She acted. inappropriately. She's charged with. misdemeanors. Uh, I don't see her getting any jail. time as a result of this. Of course, we. don't know whether she has a criminal. record or not or what her history is, but assuming she doesn't have a record, I see her getting like probation or. getting this reduced to a disorderly.

conduct and going on her way. M when you. look at the video uh and the way the. officers approached her and tried to, you know, control the situation, um it. seemed like she repeatedly was asking, you know, why is she being arrested? What's happening? What's going on? And. they were trying to explain it to her, but they also it seemed like we'll get. to it in a second. Was there anything. about the questioning of her, the. arrest, uh detaining, anything that. looked off to you, or was it by the. book? >> Pretty standard. People always want to.

know why they're being stopped, why. they're being detained, why they're. being arrested. Uh, very normal. questions to of course ask and officers. typically don't right away say you're. being charged with whatever the charges, be it assault or something else. Um, typically officers want the person to. calm down, relax, get the situation. under control, get handcuffs on them, remove them from the scene, and. eventually they'll explain. By the way, have you seen a lot of cases like this?

I feel like we cover a lot on sidebar. about people who are removed from planes. or at the gate. Seems like, you know, intoxication or alleged intoxication is. a culprit in a lot of these situations. Have you handled cases like this before? You seen them? >> So, humans act like animals in all. venues and the airport is certainly not. a place that's immune from that type of. behavior. >> because it's a stressful time. Stressful. getting on a plane. >> Stressful getting on a plane sometimes. I think people also have a lot of time. to kill while sitting at the airport.

waiting for the flight. That's true. >> And they're drinking. And they're. drinking more than they should. >> Yeah. All right. Well, here here's the. thing about this. So, you have the. written record where it becomes very. very critical because while the body cam. captures essentially the chaos of all. the arrest, the police report lays out. what police officers say happened before. the cameras were rolling. So, according. to the uh Salt Lake City Police, this. case didn't start with resistance in the. terminal, it started on board a Delta. flight and then on the Jet Bridge where.

officers say a Delta employee reported. being physically assaulted and. essentially sexually battered. I'm going. to walk you through what police allege. happened step by step. We're going to. use the incident report itself. So, according to Salt Lake uh city police, this all starts on the jet bridge after. Cody Sierra Marie Burn is removed from. that Delta flight. Now, officers write. that as a Delta employee tried to stop. her from running into the terminal, Burn. allegedly grabbed the employee by the. back of her neck, pulled her hair, and. then quote, "Turned around and grabbed.

the employees right breast with her left. hand." Cody squeezed the employees. breast while also trying to twist her. breast. While doing so, Cody stated, "If. I ever find you alone, bleep." The. employee screamed, "Don't touch me.". Now, police, our understanding has. classified this allegation as a sexual. battery. Again, we believe a class A. misdemeanor under Utah law. Said not. that serious. Um, but that's technically. uh during an altercation, could that be. considered a sexual battery?

>> Technically, it can. The ba the main. issue is there's no reported injury and. the employee right in the police report. states that she is not injured. And then. to make things more difficult for. prosecution, they didn't take any. pictures of the area. >> Let me let me explain. So they they say. the victim Yeah. she wasn't injured. because of where this alleged contact. happened. There were no photographs that. were apparently taken. No visible. injuries were observed. Is that a. problem for a prosecutor? >> It's a problem because for them to be.

able to successfully charge a higher. level assault crime, there has to be an. injury. And if there is no injury, that's a critical element that's going. to be missing. >> Well, it's not just her account of it, right? According to the report, you have. a second Delta employee who told. officers that she saw burn uh allegedly. grab the victim's breast and described. as quote pushing her on her breast. If. you have corroboration, >> sure, then you're matching the elements. under Utah law of the sexual assault.

But in terms of an assault, for it to be. a higher level assault for a felony or. something else, they don't have that. because there's no injury. >> And in the context of what was. happening, you know, if we talk about. sexual battery cases, it's not usually. during an altercation, it's during. something very nefarious. Um, not saying. that this is it shouldn't be taken. seriously, but if it is happening during. the course of an altercation, a physical. conflict, um, is intent matter like. where she was trying to do it or what.

she was trying to do, um, does it matter. the chaos of the event at all? >> So, the intent is implied from the. action itself for purposes of a sexual. battery. You just need to have that. physical contact. And so long as they. could prove that there was physical. contact, the intent is implied that that. physical contact was intentional, there. does not need to be intent for it to be. sexual. It becomes sexual due to the. nature of the body part. >> Now, police, they repeatedly point.

toxication as a central issue in this. And in the report, officers write that. when they located Cody Sierra Marie Burn. in the terminal, quote, "Her speech was. slurred and she had slack facial. features and appeared as if she had been. drinking." After she was taken into. custody, one officer noted, "I was able. to smell the odor of an alcoholic. beverage coming from her person. She was. unable to follow directions and had. difficulty communicating in an. intelligible manner." Now, there's one. thing from uh what the defendant here uh.

Burn allegedly said. you know, she'd. been drinking, but how important from a. legal point of view are the officers. observations? Are they trained to see. this? Uh, talk to me about that. >> So, officers typically are trained to. identify signs of intoxication. There's. additional trainings for officers who do. traffic stops. Obviously, I don't know. whether or not these officers had that. additional training, but any normal. human being can identify the smell of. alcohol off of somebody's breath and can. also identify when somebody is.

incoherent. What's important here, too, is it's documented on body camera. So, it's not just what the officer is saying. they observed. We can all see it. ourselves by watching that body camera. And she appears to not be sober. Mhm. And you remind us again what you think. is going to happen ultimately with this. kind of case. >> Ultimately, I think these are not high. stakes charges and assuming of course. she has no criminal record, I think. she's going to be offered a plea deal to.

either some sort of a German. incontemplation of dismissal or maybe a. disorderly conduct, something with no. jail time. Now, if she does have a. lengthy history, then it's a completely. different ballgame. >> Can she be banned from flying coming on. Delta Airlines? I mean, how does that. work? >> Well, that's not a criminal type of. sanction. A Delta or any other airline. carrier is a private carrier and they. can deny any passenger from flying, right? They don't need to sell their. service to whoever they don't want to. sell it to. I would not be surprised if.

they impose a lifetime ban on her, and. they would be very well in their right. to do so. >> We talked about maybe the lack of um. evidence of an injury. If you're a. defense attorney and she's like, I want. to fight this. I want to fight this to. the end. Anything from that body cam, anything from what you've seen in this. case, there would be avenues to explore. from a defense perspective. >> Well, the the one thing is we don't know. where these airline employees live. Sometimes we have airline employees who. are traveling and are not always based. in the same city where they were working.

that day. and the prosecution may have a. difficult time obtaining these witnesses. and having them available locally in. Salt Lake City where these charges stem. from for trial for hearings for this. case to move forward. And anytime a. witness is not available, the case dies. >> So the crucial piece here is having. those witnesses be available. And. perhaps an effective strategy for the. defense really is to drag this out and. delay until these witnesses maybe change.

their mind, decide not to cooperate, or. are geographically just not interested. in coming back. >> By the way, you were a prosecutor in. Alaska, right? >> Correct. >> She was trying to she was trying to. board a flight about the near the Alaska. Airlines terminal. Did you find that. interesting? Like after everything that. happened that she's detained, she's. arrested seemingly trying to book. another flight. >> Well, she was trying to go to Portland. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Delta wasn't letting. her fly anymore. She's on a mission to. get back to to Portland. I don't think. she's trying to flee or abscond. I think.

she's just trying to get to Portland. >> All right. Interesting case, Fina, thank. you for taking the time. It was great to. have you here in studio. Always love. having you here. Appreciate it. >> Thanks for having me. >> All right, everybody. That's all we have. for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank. you so much for joining us. And as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcasts. You [music]. can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm. Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next. time.