Why would anybody think that they could get away with this??? Man accused of spiking child's juice Friday, March 14, 2003 Posted: 6:48 AM EST (1148 GMT) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Tools -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DETROIT, Michigan (AP) -- Authorities charged a former Northwest Airlines flight attendant with assault for allegedly putting a prescription depressant in 19-month-old girl's apple juice to stop her crying during an international flight. Daniel Reed Cunningham, 33, also was charged Thursday with distributing a controlled substance on the August 25 flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. He is expected to appear in court next week for his arraignment. The girl's mother, Beate Turner, told FBI special agent Terry Booth that Cunningham seemed upset when her daughter became restless and began squirming and crying on the flight. Cunningham offered to give the girl apple juice three times before Turner accepted, according to the agent's affidavit. The girl suffered no serious injury. Turner later noticed the juice was bitter and foamy and had blue and white specks floating in it. Ten days after the flight, she took the juice to University Laboratories in Novi, which confirmed the presence of Xanax, a prescription medication used to treat panic attacks and anxiety, the FBI said. The drug's side effects include lightheadedness, fatigue and drowsiness. The Federal Drug Administration hasn't approved it for children under age 18, the agency said. Cunningham has denied drugging the child in statements to the FBI. His attorney, Neil Fink, declined comment. Cunningham also has been charged with importing more than 100 tablets of a non-narcotic controlled substance into the United States on a different flight in October. The tablets included Xanax and Valium. Northwest spokeswoman Mary Stanik said Cunningham was hired in 1998 and worked for the airline until last December 30. She said she could not discuss his case.
imagine how many times he's done it before without getting caught? i love to take my headphones/walkman/mp3 player with me on flights and extra batteries! I drown out snoring, crying babies and loud passengers.
My God, he became upset at a toddler being fussy, so he tries to drug up this 1 and 1/2 year old baby. People that do this should be locked in a room chained to the wall with the child's parents. Just give the parents 1 day with him to do with as they please.
Don't you think that's a bit harsh, Falcon? It was a stupid thing to do, but I'm not sure it was serious enough for that kind of punishment, even though it wasn't an FDA approved drug. Let the lady sue him for all he's worth, then maybe he'll do a little time and have to look for a new job when he gets out.
If someone were to do this to my child, this would not be considered harsh. What I would really want to do to this person would be considered harsh. Who is to say that a child does not have a reaction to this drug? Personally, I would only need a fraction of the time to do what I wanted, but the extra time would allow me to get my second wind and strike the point home.
I swear that a crying baby follows me and my wife around discouraging us from having kids anytime soon.
Is it always the same crying baby? That sounds kind of scary. ... Does it have red hair and look like a doll? Anyway, don't sweat it. There are already about 2 billion or so too many people for this planet anyway.
The flight attendant is clearly an idiot because he wasted a perfectly good Xanax on a child. If he was so bothered by the crying, why didn't he just take the tranquilizer himself? That way, NOTHING would have bothered him.
Heh heh...cute...and no. Maybe I'm just a little wound up about so many things happening to innocent children and me putting myself in the parents shoes. With the recent children murders in my city, and this article that I read today about these poor children with terminal diseases, Link, I feel it's idiotic for this flight attendant to add to the mix.
I can't stand hearing them in grocery stores, on airplanes, at sporting events, or anywhere. That shrill never ceasing sound rattles in my brain. I swear it's the reason I've vowed to never have children. I just don't have the patience!
Xanax is not allowed for people under 18 as it can damage kidneys as well as other things. This is clearly dangerous to give to a baby.
Instead of punishing this guy, can we make it SOP? Maybe there is some sort of tranquilizer that is safe for kids. I hate the sound of crying babies, and I hate it more when the parents don't do ANYTHING. In a movie theater, retaurant, etc. just leave. If you are on an airplane, at least take them to the bathroom until you can calm them down, not to metion apologize to all of the people you are disturbing. Don't just sit their and ignore them, they are your responsibility.
same here, we can't go out to eat without someone with a baby showing up and sitting right next to us! it seems to happen most to those who aren't very fond of babies. typical.
I was thinking the exact same thing! Only I would have taken two or three, depending on the volume of the child.
Whenever the babies get fussy at a restaurant, I will warn them about timeout and if that doesn't work, I take them to the bathroom until they are calm. I've found that the baby is scared of automatic flushing toilets at Bennigans and the auto hand dryers at Mr. Gatti's. The baby doesn't want to go to timeout in restrooms anymore... BTW, I am holdng the baby in timeout at restaurants, they are never left alone. At church, we go sit in the cryroom, but we have to compete with adults with no children for seats, because they are to embarrassed to walk down the church isles late...or even better, parents with 8 and 10 year olds siting in the cryroom because they have a bag of toys that they want to play with...DURING MASS!!! Then we have to keep our kids from getting wound up watching them. I never take our babies to adult movies...I saw some babies in the theater for "The Ring". What the hell is that??? I won't even take the kids to see Daredevil...I just bought them the Spiderman vs Daredevil DVD. I want to smack these irresponsible parents around as well!!!
