A man claims that he was tasered and kicked off a flight after an argument boiled over.
Bolic Bet Malou was travelling back to Melbourne with his family when they boarded a Jetstar flight on Saturday (18 March).
However, when the 30-year-old sat next to his wife and child, a flight attendant came over and ordered him to move.
An argument then quickly ensued, with Mr Malou claiming he had been told it was okay for him to sit in the seat despite it not being allocated to him.
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As tempers flared, police eventually boarded the flight and Mr Malou was removed from the plane.
Footage captured by another passenger shows the moment the police tasered him, with the young dad screaming in pain as he collapses to the floor.
Speaking about the incident, Mr Malou said he felt 'humiliated'.
"I was tasered and carried out of the place," he said.
“I felt like an animal, it doesn’t feel great in front of your one-year-old son."
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Recalling how it got to that point, Mr Malou, who now faces assault charges, said issues arose when he and his family were told at check-in that they had been moved to a smaller aircraft.
When they boarded, he said that he sat next to his family and even asked a flight attendant if it were okay, which he claims they did.
"I turn around and I ask ‘Brother, is it OK if I can sit next to my family?', because the belt had already been fastened for myself and I did so for my kid and my partner,” Mr Malou recalled.
“He said, ‘That's OK, we are all going to the same place. There’s no problem'."
The flight attendant later returned, Mr Malou claimed, and said he would have to move.
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He said: "She never told me the policies of the plane, had she told me the policies I would have followed the policy."
Australian Federal Police officers later boarded the plane and removed Mr Malou using a taser.
In a video from the incident, an officer can be heard saying: "You’ve failed to comply with aircraft instructions. I need you to come with me right now."
Cops then shout 'taser' three times before pulling Mr Malou out of his seat and off the plane.
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A fellow passenger on the flight claimed that Mr Malou was actually 'quite reasonable'.
“I think it got completely blown out of proportion,” he said.
It's claimed that three AFP officers were injured during the altercation.
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Acting Superintendent Shona Davis said: "Simply put, we just need to treat each other the way we want to be treated – with respect and common decency.
“Choosing to behave poorly on a flight not only affects your travel plans, but also those of potentially hundreds of other people.
“This is why the AFP has no tolerance for poor behaviour in our airports or on aircraft."
Mr Malou pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting a police officer, obstructing a public officer and disorderly behaviour in a public place at Perth Magistrates Court on Monday (20 March).
He will appear before court again on 26 July.
UNILAD has contacted Jetstar for a comment.
Topics: Australia, Police, Crime