Black guitarist who has played with Dave Matthews and John Mayer slams American Airlines
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
- Guitarist David Ryan Harris says cops and an American Airlines flight attendant suggested that one of his kids didn’t belong to him following a recent flight
A musician who has performed with John Mayer and The Dave Matthews Band took to social media to slam American Airlines after it was suggested that one of his bi-racial children did not belong to him.
David Ryan Harris said that he was flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles with his two kids when the incident occurred. As the plane landed in LAX, Harris said they were met by an American representative and four police officers.
‘Apparently, a flight attendant had called ahead with some sort of concern that perhaps my mixed children weren’t my children because they were unresponsive,’ Harris said in a video that he posted on Instagram.
The dad went on to say that his 7-year-old, the child who the attendant was concerned over, is ‘pretty shy.’ Her suspicions were apparently aroused when the child did not engage nor answer her question about his name. Harris said the entire interaction lasted about 30 seconds.
After a brief interrogation, Harris said that the officers were satisfied with his answers and allowed the family to continue their trip. ‘I wanted to go through the roof,’ Harris said, adding that he did not want to show anger in front of his kids.
Guitarist David Ryan Harris says cops and an American Airlines flight attendant suggested that one of his kids didn’t belong to him following a recent flight
Harris pictured with his son Hendrix on his Instagram page
Harris said that he lodged an official complaint with the airline but never heard back until his first social media post in which he discussed the affair went viral.
The guitarist stressed that the entire incident could have been handled differently had the attendant checked the plane manifest and seen that the family all held the same last name.
Harris also said that his children have frequent flyer accounts with American which further proves their identity.
He called her actions ‘poor form,’ in his first video about the incident.
‘There were many steps that she could have taken before she lobbed the hand grenade of having the authorities called,’ Harris added.
Many in the comments suggested that the attendant’s heart was in the right place and that she believed the child was in danger or was being trafficked.
The Department of Homeland Security points to a person being non-communicative as a sign of human trafficking.
American Airlines ’empowers’ staff to act if they feel as though human trafficking is taking place.
The agent who contacted Harris went through the steps that the airline takes in order to prevent trafficking. The agent also said that the entire incident was under investigation.
Harris was offered 10,000 air miles, an offer he described as ‘kinda insulting.’