The Reno-Tahoe International Airport is speaking out after video surfaced of an altercation between two passengers at the airport. The racially motivated argument broke out Thursday after one man spoke Spanish in front of another passenger.
To see the full video click here. Although, we do want to warn you of the explicit profanity before watching the video.
The incident apparently started when the person identified as "Mike" told the person filming, Hector Torres to stop speaking Spanish while on his cell phone. Reno-Tahoe International has reached out to Torres to apologize for what happened.
"We believe we make the all important first and last impression on people coming and going from the region and this does not reflect who we are not only as an airport, but as a region," said Brian Kulpin, Vice President of Public Affairs, Reno-Tahoe International Airport Authority.
The video is just over eight minutes long and has some wondering why it took Airport Police several minutes to respond.
"Our police responded within two minutes of being dispatched. It took a while for someone to contact the police for them to come. So you watch the video, it looks like a long time, but until the police were notified, they didn't know to arrive on scene," said Kulpin.
"Mike" was not arrested but was escorted off the property by Airport Police for his behavior in the terminal.
In response the Reno-Tahoe International Airport has released the following statement:
“On behalf of Marily Mora, CEO of Reno-Tahoe International Airport: The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority will be conducting a further investigation into a racially motivated altercation between two passengers at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport on the evening of Thursday, May 18.
The Airport Police responded to the gate area on Concourse C within two minutes of being dispatched and spoke to both passengers involved as well as witnesses. The passenger who was the target of the discriminatory comments made a video of the incident. When police arrived, he declined to press charges. The passenger who filmed the incident continued on his flight and the other passenger and his family did not fly that day.
The security, safety, and customer experience of all our guests will always be our highest priority. We will be attempting to reach out to the passenger who made the video of the altercation to express our sincere apologies and support in the wake of the incident. We will also be conducting a thorough investigation into the events of that evening. We will also be reviewing internal procedures including why airport officials learned of the incident through social media 2 days after it happened.
The Airport Authority is deeply saddened to see this type of situation occur at our airport. Every passenger, regardless of race, religion, the language they speak, nation of origin, sexual orientation, age or political belief is welcome at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.”
