A former NFL player forced a plane heading from Boston to Ireland to turn around after he allegedly urinated on a passenger mid-flight on Sunday morning.
Gosder Cherilus, 40, of Wakefield, Massachusetts was taken into custody once the Delta Airlines aircraft bound for Dublin landed back at Boston Logan International Airport. Massachusetts State Police troopers and Border Patrol agents boarded the plane to arrest Cherilus.
Officials said they needed to use two sets of handcuffs due to the man’s size.
Cherilus, who previously played for Boston College and was part of the NFL draft in 2008, was charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing a flight crew and resisting arrest, according to WCVB.
Dr Connee Bush, the passenger who the man allegedly urinated on, told the outlet that the former player started engaging in unruly behavior during the flight.
“I did notice, earlier on the flight, that he did a lot of vocalizing — not, you know, nonsensical kinds of things — and whistled every once in a while,” said Bush.
The woman was sleeping in her pod when Cherilus began urinating on her, according to police. Bush was going to Ireland to watch a football game between Georgia Tech and Florida State University.
“I could not believe the copious amounts of urine,” the woman said of the incident. “My blanket was soaked. There was a puddle in my seat when I got up. There was urine splattered on the monitor screen in front.”
Bush’s husband tried to confront the man but he wouldn’t stop. Flight attendants responded to the incident and tried to calm the man down, the woman said, adding that she managed to get out of the pod and change her clothes.
As the troopers demanded the man get off the plane, he became irate and uncooperative, telling officials not to touch him, WCVB reported. Authorities eventually removed Cherilus from the plane and brought him to the jet bridge, where he was taken into custody.
On Monday morning, he was arraigned in East Boston District Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In a statement posted to social media on Monday, Cherilus said: “The flight was unexpectedly delayed for approximately four hours, and it did not take off until after 12:30am. In preparation for the unexpected overnight flight, I took a sleeping medication that I don’t normally use, which resulted in behavior that is not representative of my character and I would like to apologize to the passengers and flight crew.”
Cherilus was ordered to remain drug and alcohol-free during proceedings and will be subjected to random testing. A judge also ordered him to stay away from Logan airport unless he is there to travel.
Following the incident, Delta said it “has zero tolerance for unlawful behavior and will cooperate with law enforcement to that end. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel.”
Cherilus retired from football in 2017 after playing for the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.