Running through airports was depicted as the way to go in the late 20th century as O.J. Simpson helped Hertz Rent-a-Car become a household name.
But in the age of the Transportation Security Agency, it can result in a fast landing to the floor.
That’s what Fabian Leon, 40, found out back on Oct. 30 in an incident that is making the rounds now that the video has been released, according to WAGA-TV.
Video from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport showed Leon trying to get through the airport as fast as possible. Leon tried to get through one TSA lane, but he was stopped.
Video showed a bystander, Mark Thomas, making the kind of moves O.J. did in his prime when shedding would-be tacklers, including a TSA agent.
That’s when Thomas intervened. Thomas said a TSA officer yelled “breach.”
“I saw him knock over the first dude and then a TSA agent tried to grab him, and once he was going to get past me, I was just like, okay, I’ll just take over if I can,” Thomas said.
Video depicted Thomas making the kind of tackle NFL scouts would love.
Leon remained down until the police arrived. He faced charges of simple battery and avoiding security measures.
Leon later blamed his behavior on a combination of drugs and alcohol.
The TSA said three staff members were assaulted. It warned the would-be airport running back that threats, verbal abuse, and physical violence can be the first step to being arrested.
Thomas was shown the months-old video.
“It’s crazy to think about how it happened in my head versus seeing it, very similar to how I remember it,” he said.
When the charging man was stopped, he was quite calm, Thomas said.
“He was very soft-spoken, he just kept saying, ‘Oh, I’m okay, I’m okay, let me up, let me up, I’m okay,’” Thomas said. “It’s like a kind of clear that he was sort of detached from the entire situation.”
Thomas said he should never have been needed to intervene.
“I think more police presence should have probably been there, it shouldn’t have taken me to take him down,” Thomas said. “I don’t know how many checkpoints or people he got past before that.”
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