Black retired judge who flew first class says flight attendant ordered her to use coach restroom
Judiciary
Black retired judge who flew first class says flight attendant ordered her to use coach restroom
April 30, 2024, 2:29 pm CDT
A Black retired judge from Chicago said she was flying first class when an American Airlines flight attendant accused her of slamming the first-class restroom door and later directed her to use the facilities in the back of the plane. (Image from Shutterstock)
A Black retired judge from Chicago said she was flying first class when an American Airlines flight attendant accused her of slamming the first-class restroom door and later directed her to use the facilities in the back of the plane.
The retired judge, Judge Pamela Hill-Veal, told NPR that the incident happened on a Feb. 10 flight from Chicago to Phoenix.
The first time that she used the first-class restroom, Hill-Veal said, the flight attendant told her that she slammed the door and should not do it again because passengers were sleeping. Hill-Veal denied slamming the door.
The second time that she used the first-class restroom, the flight attendant reprimanded her, according to Hill-Veal.
“He began to berate me by pointing his finger at me towards my face,” Hill-Veal told NPR.
She alleges that the flight attendant told her, “I told you not to slam the door … so from now on, you are to use the restroom in the back of the plane,” which was in coach.
When she used the first-class restroom a third time, Hill-Veal said, the flight attendant followed her to her seat, began to touch her and warned that she would be arrested when the plane landed. He accused Hill-Veal of hitting him and said he didn’t like the way that she was speaking to him, she said.
Hill-Veal said she never hit the flight attendant, and she thinks that the incident was racially motivated.
American Airlines told NPR that it contacted Hill-Veal to learn more about her experience.
“We strive to ensure that every customer has a positive travel experience, and we take all claims of discrimination very seriously,” the statement said.
Hill-Veal was appointed to serve as a member of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission’s review board beginning in January, according to an article in the Illinois State Bar Association. The article said Hill-Veal retired from the bench in Cook County, Illinois, in December 2012.
