DALLAS — A Spirit Airlines vendor at DFW International Airport has suspended a gate agent involved in a violent altercation that went viral online.
The confrontation happened Thursday, Spirit confirmed, despite the video’s caption dating it to July 11. An airport police report identifies the agent as Emmanuel Sullivan of Grapevine and the woman as Ayriana Davis of Fort Worth.
“Our vendor at DFW has suspended the agent. Spirit Airlines does not tolerate violence of any kind, and we are working with local law enforcement to investigate this matter,” the airline wrote in a statement.
The airport’s criminal investigations team declined to comment. It referred questions to airport spokeswoman Cynthia Vega, who said in an email: “We cannot release any additional information regarding this incident at this time as it remains under investigation.”
The video posted to Twitter shows Sullivan yelling at Davis in the airport, telling her not to touch him. The video has more than 6 million views as of Friday afternoon.
“You touched me first and then you got in my face,” Sullivan said in the video. “Don’t ever invade my personal space.”
“Get out of my face!” Davis screamed in response. She later said cameras saw the altercation and that the agent touched her.
Davis shoved Sullivan and called him homophobic and racial slurs, then reached out to hit him. Sullivan responded by running at her and hitting her as bystanders intervened.
In the police report, Sullivan said Davis exited the jet bridge and started yelling at him, saying there was no seat for her on the plane. He told her to get in line to speak to an agent, then took her boarding pass after she cut in line and became uncooperative, the report said.
Davis tried to grab her boarding pass back and Sullivan told police he pushed her back as she repeatedly advanced on him. He said he called police after she hit him on the head.
Davis told police that she “didn’t do anything” and Sullivan shoved her to the ground for no reason.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Davis said she was waiting at a counter for an agent to help someone else when Sullivan repeatedly asked her to pick her boarding pass up. He then tore the pass in half, she said.
She said the pair began arguing and Sullivan hit her in the head before the Twitter video began.
Davis said she went to the hospital after the incident with a fractured left leg, abrasions on her right leg and other minor injuries. Photographs in the police report show a large abrasion on her right leg and swelling on her left leg.
Sullivan could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Davis denied using a racial slur, noting that she is Black. She said her language was because she was in “defense mode” after Sullivan hit her.
“I have no issues with any type of community,” she said.
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