Judiciary
Black retired judge who flew first class says flight attendant ordered her to use coach restroom
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.
