PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

Physician makes air marshals rethink racial profiling

In the Courts. By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Sept. 8, 2003.

Analyzing the impact of recent court decisions on physicians

Florida family physician Bob Rajcoomar, MD, buckled his seat belt and sat back for a relatively short flight from Atlanta to Philadelphia last summer. But the flight turned out to be far from uneventful.

A passenger in coach caused a ruckus, showing signs that he was mentally unstable. A flight attendant asked two U.S. air marshals aboard the plane to help settle the man down.

The air marshals hurried toward the man, handcuffed him, dragged him to the first class cabin and seated him next to Dr. Rajcoomar.

Dr. Rajcoomar asked for and received permission to move to a different seat and did so.

Then, Dr. Rajcoomar said, the air marshals turned toward passengers with weapons drawn. They made it clear that no one was allowed to move.

The passengers were held at gunpoint for the last half hour of the flight, Dr. Rajcoomar said. When the plane finally landed in Philadelphia, he was relieved that the flight was finally over.

Little did he know that his nightmare was just beginning.

As the physician stood up to leave the plane, an air marshal pushed him back into his seat and told him to put his hands over his head. Dr. Rajcoomar obeyed.

Then he felt cold, steel handcuffs snap shut around his wrists.

Air marshals escorted him from the plane and turned him over to the Philadelphia police.

"I didn't know what to think," Dr. Rajcoomar said. "Twelve people came to lug me out of that aircraft. It's scary. I've lived here so long, it was a real shock for me."

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