Officer's body cam shows arrest of man accused of carrying box cutters on Frontier flight
Airport police apprehend suspect with box cutter at Hartsfield Jackson
Exclusive video obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta's Tyler Fingert shows the suspect being taken into custody at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after being caught with a box cutter on a Frontier flight. (Credit: Moore/Wright Patterson AFB)
ATLANTA - Atlanta police have released the body cam video from officers responding to a Frontier Airlines flight to Tampa that was diverted after a passenger was found with a box cutter on board.
The video shows passengers being hurried from the flight that departed from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Nov. 11 with the intention of landing at Tampa International Airport. Instead, the plan landed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after the box cutter was found in the passenger's possession.
Once all the passengers disembarked, the officers rushed the cabin and deployed a Taser on the man, who police say was then running towards the entrance.
According to the police report, the man was standing at the back of the plane and refused to be seated. A flight attendant told officers that the passengers was going to "cut" someone.
William Liebisch, of Cincinnati, was taken into custody.
Police say they found a yellow Dewalt commercial box cutter in his right jacket pocket when he was searched.
Investigators say one woman on board the plane told police that during the flight Liebisch told her "he was going to stab someone on the plane" and alerted the flight attendant that she wanted to switch seats.
One man told investigators that Liebisch had been talking to himself and said "people were after him."
Veterans take down passenger with box cutter on Frontier flight
A disturbance involving an erratic passenger with a weapon on board forced a Frontier Airlines flight to divert to Atlanta. FOX 5 got an eyewitness account of the scary situation from a passenger that crew members called on to help subdue the subject.
Navy veteran Larry Cumberbatch told police he and another person were keeping an eye on Liebisch, who at that point had gone to the back of the plane to use the restroom, but never returned to his seat.
Police say Liebisch continued to act erratically once the plane was on the ground and even after he was taken into custody.
According to the police report, officers found another pair of box cutters inside his carry-on bag.
The TSA released a statement about the flight that reads in part:
"TSA takes its role in transportation security very seriously. The situation with the Frontier flight is under investigation with the US Attorney’s Office, as they are the lead federal agency in this matter. TSA has started an internal review of the incident by viewing CCTV, airport security checkpoint processes/operations and will continue to provide updates as they are available. TSA can confirm that blades are prohibited in the cabin, but allowed in checked luggage."
Police say Liebisch was traveling to stay at his father’s home in the Tampa Bay area.