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Officer left bloodied by driver at Atlanta's airport
A woman who refused to move her car off the curb at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport jumped out of the driver’s seat and assaulted one of the traffic officers, leaving the officer bloody.
ATLANTA - It happens hundreds of times a day at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A curb officer at the airport instructs a driver to circle and not stop to wait for an arriving passenger.
Early Wednesday morning, one female driver decided she would not comply.
And her non-compliance turned into violence.
Airport sources familiar with the incident tell FOX 5 the driver jumped out of her car, took up a fighting stance, and charged the traffic officer, who is also a female.
The driver punched the enforcement officer in the face, leaving her bloodied.
And the episode was not a one-off.
"We see it all the time," said one curb officer who did not want their name used. "I have been attacked. I have had co-workers punched in the chest."
These traffic officers are not police. They ask for patience from all those who use the airport.
A driver's anger can boil so quickly. An attack can start before police get the notification to come help.
"We need to have protection," the curb officer said.
One suggestion could be the airport consider authorizing defensive weapons for the enforcement officers, such as pepper spray.
The staffer who was slugged by the driver is at home recovering.