A Delta passenger punched an officer after being denied boarding because staff said he was too drunk, police say

• A Delta passenger lashed out after being denied boarding, police say.
• Footage of the incident at LAX shows the passenger punching an officer in the chest.
• Hewas arrested for battery on a police officer, TMZ reported.

A Delta Air Lines passenger assaulted a police officer after he was stopped from boarding a flight to from LA to New York, according to police.

The passenger, who has not been named, was stopped from boarding at LAX, TMZ first reported.

He wasn’t allowed to board because Delta staff felt he was “too intoxicated to fly,” airport official Rob Pedregon told Fox News.

A Delta spokesperson told Fox that police were called to escort the passenger out of the terminal after he became verbally abusive at the departure gate. Delta did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

After officers arrived, Pedregon told the media outlet, the passenger had a “moment of rage” and assaulted an officer by punching him in the chest.

Footage of the incident published by TMZ shows an officer tackling him to the ground. While pinned, he can be heard saying: “You ruined my whole fucking day, bro, now I have to travel a whole other day… it fucking sucks, dude.”

The video then shows the passenger screaming and struggling on the ground before being handcuffed and escorted out of the airport in a wheelchair. 

He was arrested for battery on a police officer, TMZ said. Police at LAX also did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

The Federal Aviation Administration logged more than 5,300 flight disturbances this year, as of late November, Insider’s Charles Davis reported.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland instructed prosecutors in a November memo to step up enforcement over the holiday season.