Some people have far too much time on their hands and are far too self-important. Take a flight attendant who felt it necessary to perform a “citizen’s arrest” against her colleague, which turned violent. The crime? A missing snack box.

Citizen’s Arrest: Flight Attendant Blocks Colleague From Leaving Aircraft, Accusing Her Of Stealing A Snack Box

An anonymous flight attendant complained on reddit that she has “been suspended for conducting a citizens arrest on another (thieving) FA.” I suppose the story could be fictional, but it strikes me as believable and the fact that she deleted it after receiving blowback further suggests it was real (otherwise, who cares?).

Here’s how she described the incident:

“I always fly lead, but I like to keep on top of everything that is happening in my cabin, so I went to the aft galley and inspected the carts and made sure everything was packed up and completed according to company policy. Thankfully, it was, which saved me needing to file an incident report, and I counted there were four snack boxes remaining.”

So far, so good. Employees who take their role seriously and look out for their employer are often to be commended. But then she remembered that one of her colleagues had mentioned that she was hungry and thought she would count the snack boxes once more. That’s when she “discovered” one was missing.

“So to ensure the security of company property, on the descent, I went to double-check the carts and found there were only three snack boxes left. I did not raise it with the crew member but immediately rang the Captain and requested a supervisor meet us at the gate. By the time all pax had disembarked, the supervisor had still not arrived, so I told the crew they were unable to leave and they were not under any circumstances to touch or move their baggage.”

Wow, that’s quite an escalation. The “thieving” flight attendant tried to get by with her bag and the flight attendant grabbed the bag, then blocked the door with a beverage cart! In that process, she knocked the “regional girl” over.

“In the process of securing the evidence, I accidentally knocked the regional girl with her bag and made her stumble.”

A ground staff supervisor showed up, the flight attendant’s bag was searched, and no snack box was found.

Several days later, the flight attendant was suspended for:

• assault
• bullying
• unlawful detention

She thought she would gain sympathy on reddit, but instead, she gained scorn.

It isn’t clear what airline the flight attendant worked for, but the only three “major” airlines that sell snack boxes are Alaska, Delta, and United.

Her Conduct Was Worse Than The Crime (That May Never Have Occurred)

You know why this story is believable? Because I’ve interacted with people like this across many industries throughout my life. Some people believe that they must be judge, jury, and executioner and far too many people do not know how to mind their own business.

Let’s assume the flight attendant had stolen the snack box. Ok, you can file a report…but it’s not your job to stop this theft. Because if you get hurt or cause injury to other, you create a far bigger problem than the theft. That’s why retail employees are instructed to let thieves steal. It’s a bad solution, but a better solution than the alternatives.

Here, the flight attendant didn’t even have the sack box! If you’re going to accuse someone of being a thief, you better make sure you’re correct. As One Mile At A Time points out, “Perhaps the craziest part of this story is that this is the flight attendant’s own version of events. Like, if someone told this story from the perspective of the other flight attendant, most of us would probably say “there must be more to the story.” But this is the flight attendant’s own version of events, and she doesn’t see what’s wrong with her actions?!”

Yep. That is the craziest part of this story.

There’s just no basis for her conduct and her actions were totally disproportionate to the situation, even if she had seen the flight attendant stick the snack box in her bag with her own eyes.

CONCLUSION

I do think flight attendants should be held accountable for stealing water bottles and snack boxes, but come on now…this vigilantism was over-the-top. It comes down to judgment and I would never want an employee who so poorly overreacted, as we see here. It’s one thing to look out for your company, but that does not mean that you can assault or unlawfully detain a colleague on mere suspicion of wrongdoing. This flight attendant should be fired based on her own version of events.

Hat Tip: PYOK