Black guitarist who has played with Dave Matthews and John Mayer slams American Airlines after flight attendant suspected he had kidnapped his biracial children and called police who were waiting for him when he arrived in LA
Black guitarist who played with Dave Matthews and John Mayer slams American Airlines after flight attendant suspected he had kidnapped his biracial children and called police who were waiting for him when he arrived in LA
- Guitarist David Ryan Harris says police and an American Airlines flight attendant suggested after a recent flight that one of his children wasn’t his
A musician who has performed with John Mayer and The Dave Matthews Band has criticized American Airlines on social media after it was suggested that one of his biracial children was not his.
David Ryan Harris said he was flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles with his two children when the incident occurred. When the plane landed at LAX, Harris said they were met by a U.S. representative and four police officers.
“Apparently a flight attendant had called ahead with the concern that my mixed children might not be my children because they weren’t responding,” Harris said in a video he posted to Instagram.
The father went on to say that his 7-year-old, the child the counselor was concerned about, is “pretty shy.” Her suspicions were apparently aroused when the child did not respond or respond to her question about his name. Harris said the entire interaction lasted about 30 seconds.
After a brief questioning, Harris said the officers were satisfied with his answers and the family could continue their journey. “I wanted to go through the roof,” Harris said, adding that he didn’t want to show anger in front of his children.
Guitarist David Ryan Harris says police and an American Airlines flight attendant suggested after a recent flight that one of his children wasn’t his
Harris pictured with his son Hendrix on his Instagram page
Harris said he filed an official complaint with the airline but never heard back until his first social media post discussing the affair went viral.
The guitarist emphasized that the entire incident could have been handled differently if the attendant had checked the plane manifest and seen that the family all had the same last name.
Harris also said his children have frequent flyer accounts with American, further proving their identity.
In his first video about the incident, he called her actions “bad form.”
“There were many steps she could have taken before throwing the hand grenade to get the authorities called,” Harris added.
Many in the comments suggested that the counselor’s heart was in the right place and that she believed the child was in danger or being trafficked.
The Department of Homeland Security points that someone is non-communicative as a sign of human trafficking.
American Airlines empowers employees to take action if they feel human trafficking is occurring.
The agent who contacted Harris went through the steps the airline takes to prevent human trafficking. The officer also said the entire incident is under investigation.
Harris was offered 10,000 airline miles, an offer he described as “quite insulting.”