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Woman dragged off Delta flight at Metro Airport is assistant professor at University of Michigan

Posted at 6:31 PM, Dec 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-22 19:15:49-05

We’re learning more about a local woman dragged off a Delta Airlines jet.

The incident happened at Detroit Metro Airport earlier this month and it was caught on tape.

It sure was a scene onboard the Delta flight at metro earlier this month: a woman being dragged – literally - off a San Diego bound plane.

We’ve learned she had blown past the gate agent, boarding unlawfully, refusing to properly check her bags and then refused to get up and leave the aircraft.

All the while she was cursing at responding officers who begged her to walk out on her own.

We’ve now learned she is Rhima Coleman of Ann Arbor.

She wasn’t at her townhouse. So we headed to her office at U of M. We were told she was out of town at a conference.

There’s no word on if she flew.

Coleman is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering. In her university headshot she appears far more composed than on the day of her arrest.

We still don’t know what led her to render herself lifeless and force officers to drag her off a plane in front of hundreds of other people.

She is facing a misdemeanor charge and is due back in court on the 18th of January.

U of M confirmed for me today her employment status hasn’t changed. Some of her coworkers and students say they are mystified by her behavior.