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The week of Christmas got off to a shocking start in Miami when an altercation between a law enforcement officer and a belligerent passenger erupted at Miami International Airport.
The conflict ignited inside one of the airport waiting areas and quickly escalated, with the passenger biting the officer on the head and the officer pulling his gun on him in return.
The brawl ensued after the passenger became angry that his flight was delayed. See video of the conflict below.
According to witnesses, things touched off when passenger Mayfrer Gregorio Serranopaca jumped in front of an employee golf cart and then disabled it by breaking the keys, demanding to speak to someone about the flight delay.
Things immediately erupted when officers arrived as Serranopaca became aggressive.
The officer put Serranopaca in a headlock to attempt to subdue him. As a crowd gathered things became even more violent, escalating to the point Serranopaca bit the officer on the head.
Once the officer broke free from the mob, he pulled his gun on Serranopaca and the crowd that had surrounded the two men. He told local media he feared for his life and the safety of his colleagues.
But other videos which showed the moment the altercation touched off struck many as another example of overreaction on the part of law enforcement.
UPDATE: New video appears to show the start of last night\u2019s Miami International Airport brawl with passengers and a @MiamiDadePD officer inside @iflymia Terminal H #BecauseMiami via @fox_sheldonpic.twitter.com/5FmhAXMi7D— Billy Corben (@Billy Corben) 1640099225
The videos show Serranopaca trying to talk to the officer, who instead turns to leave. Serranopaca then grabs the officer's arm, telling him, "Listen to me" in Spanish. The officer then lashes out, punching Serranopaca several times, and the chaos ensues.
Later, as he tried to arrest Serranopaca, a second man, Alberto Yanez Suarez, became involved, attempting to prevent the officer from doing so. Both have been charged with crimes, including aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, burglary, false imprisonment and inciting a riot for Serranopaca and aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence for Suarez.
On Twitter, people were sharply divided over who was at fault in the melee, with some feeling the officer clearly instigated the brawl.
From looking at the video the man was trying to talk to the officer. The officer turned to walk away, the man grabbed his arm for attention saying listen to me, officer started swinging which was an over reaction. That is the problem. Cop escalated threw first punch.— Bayoucutie40 (@Bayoucutie40) 1640101961
I tend to support the police 100%, and the guy here may have stolen the cart keys, etc. But I completely agree with you. He grabbed the policeman\u2019s wrist and said \u201clisten to me\u201d\u2026 and the policeman went crazy and started the violence\u2026 excessive use of force, without a doubt\u2026— Outta here (@Outta here) 1640118684
@MiamiDadePD this person did not pose a threat to the officer.He wanted to grab the officer's attention and he grabbed his arm.The response from the officer was not justified. The battery on a cop is not justified.I hope a lawyer watching this files a lawsuit against @MiamiDadePD— sea7754 (@sea7754) 1640118184
Simple battery on an officer. He's in trouble.\n\nStill, though, is that how we want our cops behaving when they should just be arresting people? He could have given him the command to submit for arrest instead of starting a brawl.— Grant Stern is boosted! (@Grant Stern is boosted!) 1640099772
"battery on a cop"? The cop was the one who needlessly sucker punched the guy and then put him on a choke hold. I get that the guy was not right in his taking over the golf cart..but we should acknowledge at the same time that this cop's actions were excessive and unnecessary.— LoynazNow (@LoynazNow) 1640101655
But others felt strongly that Serranopaca's charges are justified.
By definition under FL law this is indeed battery and how do you know the man didn't pose a threat? He's upset over a flight delay, takes a golf cart, then grabs an officer's arm? This guy has a screw loose.— AntsyHikes (@AntsyHikes) 1640180483
It wasn\u2019t a \u201ctouch\u201d. It was a grab. If somone grabbed me like that I would consider it an assault.— \ud83d\udc18 Don the Con is Gone \ud83d\udc18 (@\ud83d\udc18 Don the Con is Gone \ud83d\udc18) 1640102410
When I first watched the video I thought the punch came out of left field. Then I rewatched a few times, and Mayfrer Serranopaca clearly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. That's when he became a threat. Reading the rest of the details, your boy couldn't be more wrong.— TheFuture (@TheFuture) 1640275902
Glad there were charges filed.— Bren (@Bren) 1640117742
Yet the Cop is under review. Whats with people and disrespect, impatience, disobedience at the airport!— Mireya Carballosa (@Mireya Carballosa) 1640102342
The Transportation and Security Administration recently reported a pronounced uptick in so-called "unruly passengers" in recent years, and has announced a new zero-tolerance policy that includes fines, jail time and being banned from flying by airlines.