We previously posted the interview with Deshon Marman — he of the sagging pants incident — that KGO-TV aired last weekend. But that spot features only about a minute of Marman actually talking. Now, KGO has posted the raw video of the interview, which lasts nearly 18 minutes of Marman explaining exactly what happened, from his perspective. The San Mateo County DA is still deciding whether to charge Marman with a crime.
Here’s a partial transcript:
I flew back into town for a funeral, and, a lot of emotional distress. I had a 6 o’clock turnaround flight the next morning. I actually missed that flight and had caught a nine o’clock flight. I was in pajama pants, not street clothes, pajama pants, a windbreaker.
The pajama pants were tied on by a string, not elastic. So where the string was tied, that’s where it was set on my waist. So as I was walking carrying my bags, I had a 12-pound duffel bag and a shoulder bag, and I was carrying my bags through the tunnel behind all the passengers, a ticket taker had followed me down the corridor and she asked me to pull up my pants. I acknowledged her, I said, ‘yes,” I had my (bag) in my hands…so I kind of jumped and tried to pull up my pajama pants, but like I said they were already set by a string so naturally they fell right back to the position. My pants were actually not below my knees, below my buttocks, they were slightly below my waist. But I was in pajama pants, flight clothes. Right as I entered the cabin, the ticket taker, she had went to a flight attendant…as I was taking my seat. So as I took my seat I put my bags away, I sat down, took my seat, and I was ready to go, I was ready to get on the flight.
The flight attendant came to me and asked me if I could step off the plane and go talk to the woman or address the situation. I was real tired, like I said, I was under heavy emotional distress, I’d just lost my best friend, and I was really ready to go back to school and get my life back where I had my plans. So I really didn’t feel like getting up, or I didn’t see the need to get up and leave my seat. I told that flight attendant I really don’t want to get up right now, I’m tired, my best friend had got killed, I just want to catch my flight and be on my way.
She had left, they had sent someone else to talk to me. I explained again, I didn’t want to get off the plane, I felt like I hadn’t done anything wrong. As I took my seat I pulled up my pajama bottoms and felt like everything was fine. So they sent the pilot and a couple of police officers and tried to ask me to leave the plane. The pilot came to me and the way he talked to me was not forthcoming. He was kind of belligerent, downtalking to me as if I was a child. He was like, ‘you’re gonna pull up your pants, we’re gonna ride on this flight and I’m not going to have any problems out of you.’
Tension had been building already, I tried to control myself with the captain. I said ‘yes sir, I’m in my seat, my pants are pulled up and we’re ready to go.’ And he had agreed..everything had calmed down. And one of the officers had asked me for my boarding pass. I stated, ‘I wouldn’t be on the plane, officer, if I didn’t have a boarding pass. I’m just like everybody else on this plane.’ I said I’m just like everybody else on this plane, I’m human. And the pilot said, ‘no you’re not, you’re not like everybody else.’ So you know, I’m just like, okay, I just sat back and let everything take its course-
What do you think he meant when he said that?
I don’t’ know. I don’t know what he meant. Only the man who said it knows what he meant.
What went through your mind?
You know, I was appalled, I was shocked. You know. But I really just-
You think he was making a racial slur at you?
I’m not sure. I can’t tell you what the next man is thinking or saying. But he said it, it’s in the past, we’re trying to move forward and handle the situation. But after that, the officer had asked me for my boarding pass. I said, ‘officer, I wouldn’t be on the plane if I didn’t have a boarding pass. I don’t feel a need to show you my boarding pass.’ At that point in time I felt like I was being harassed. They had sent three people to come try to remove me off the plane. I felt like I didn’t do anything wrong, I felt like I paid for my ticket, I paid my fees, I went through the checkpoint and everything all right, security and everything all right. I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong. So why am I being asked to leave my seat, after I complied with the woman – you know I tried but I had my bags in my hand.
But after that whole incident they had sent a sheriff from San Mateo County to come talk to me. He was more forthcoming, he talked to me with a benevolent tone. So I could relate to him and talk to him. He asked me to step off the flight. Because they said they didn’t want me on the flight. I could understand after everything that happened. I said, ‘are you guys going to refund my flight so I can make it back to New Mexico?’ He said ‘yes, we’re going to refund your flight.’
So I had grabbed my bags off the plane after everybody was evacuated, I had stepped off the plane. As soon as I stepped off the plane an officer approached me and grabbed my wrist. I said ‘excuse me officer I’m not being arrested. You know, we’re walking up to the terminal so I can get on another flight.’ And he was like, ‘no we’re gonna walk you up in handcuffs.’ I ‘m like, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong, why are you arresting me?’ They never mirandized me, they never read me any rights, they never told me why I was being arrested.
So after he grabbed my wrist, I told him I didn’t do anything wrong. I had located the sheriff that had talked to me about walking off the plane. I said, ‘sheriff can I follow you up to the terminal?’ He said yes. As soon as I stepped to follow him, they grabbed my arm from behind me, I pulled my arm forward. You know, because anyone who didn’t commit a crime or felt like they didn’t’ do anything would resist arrest. They didn’t’ tell me why I was being arrested, they didn’t read me any rights, they just started grabbing me and putting me in handcuffs. They put me in leg restraints and a chest restraint, and they carried me down where the baggage carts are, and they detained me.
You know that they booked you on trespassing, that’s the charge?
I don’t’ see how they book me on trespassing when I’m a paying customer.
Marman then spoke about his feelings about sagging pants and his belief that his pants were not unreasonably hanging down. He denied that any of his private parts were showing. He said that when he walked on the flight no passengers complained to him about the way he was dressed.
You can watch a fellow passenger’s video of the actual incident below: