ABC7 exclusively reported that the San Mateo County District Attorney would drop all charges against Deshon Marman. Now that the criminal charges have been dismissed, the lawyer for Deshon Marman say they will file a lawsuit against U.S. Airways.
"I could have de-escalated the situation," Marman said. "The officers could have de-escalated the situation. The pilot could have. It's all over with now, so I'm happy."
Marman, 20, can now play football for the University of New Mexico without worrying about his scholarship, which may have been in jeopardy if the case ended up in court. The San Mateo County District Attorney decided not to press charges against Marman stemming from an incident on board a U.S. Airways flight bound for Albuquerque on June 12.
"We've got enough other types of crimes that this a case that does not need to take up our court space," district attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said.
Marman's mother, Donna Doyle, toasted the good news at a celebration at her home yesterday.
"Justice for all," Doyle said. "I am so pleased, I am so grateful."
It's been nearly one month to the day when Marman was yanked off a U.S. Airways flight bound for Albuquerque from San Francisco International Airport. An airline employee had asked Marman to pull up his pajama pants, complaining that it was sagging below his knees.
"My pants were actually not even below my knees," Marman told ABC7, adding that crewmembers repeatedly harassed him even after he complied.
The captain of the plane made a citizen's arrest after calling police. Marman was taken into custody and jailed on a charge of trespassing.
The Marman Family has retained lawyer Joe O'Sullivan. The family says they plan to sue U.S. Airways over the incident.
"We have to deal with the criminality aspect of the case. That's now gone," O'Sullivan said. "So now, we'll go after U.S. Air."
U.S. Airways declined to go on camera, instead choosing to issue a statement.
"We believe the crew and employees acted professionally in dealing with the unfortunate situation," Michelle Mohr, a spokesperson for U.S. Airways, said. "The situation has always been about a passenger's personal decision, refusing to follow crew member instructions and the safety ramifications of that decision."
The San Mateo County District Attorney said he found no evidence of discrimination on behalf of U.S. Airways, which has been a rallying cry of those who support Marman including the local chapter of the NAACP. The DA said the first U.S. Airways two employees who were involved in the altercation were in fact African-Americans.
Reverend Amos Brown, the president of the local NAACP chapter, has led the fight against U.S. Airways claiming it's an incident of racism, saying it doesn't matter if the employees were black or white. Brown said the case is a matter of institutional racism of which he believes the airline is guilty.
U.S. Airways has offered free passes between Albuquerque, where Marman is going to school on a football and academic scholarship, according to the family. The family says they have not accepted any deal. The airliner, however, told ABC7 that no such offer was made.
