Youve had lawmakers and everyone else talk about the idea, they want to see changes made in the way passengers are treated, because as of right now, they think there needs to be more Customer Service for those passengers when theyre on a flight like this, especially when they pay for a flight. As we were talking about, now you can see for the first time, those lawyers and the family members are actually walking toward the podium as we speak, so this News Conference is getting ready to get under way. We are just given that oneminute total when this was going to happen, so im going to step out of the way as they start to sit down and start the conversation. Lets keep the conversation going for just a second until we hear from these attorneys. The guidance weve received is that its two attorneys and the daughter of dr. Dao. Looks like were about to begin. Lets listen in. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is tom demetrio, and this is steve golen. And this is crystal pepper at the end. Steve and i have the honor and responsibility to represent dr. Dao, and crystal is one of dr. Daos five children. Im going to say a few words. Crystal is going to say a few words. And then well open it up to any questions you might have. I would ask only that if you do ask a question, that you state your name and your affiliation. So, were gathered here because of a rather disturbing video that went viral, as things do in our world today. The Media Inquiries of us has been quite amazing, which is why we thought this might be the best way to go about answering some of your questions. Mr. Munoz has taken to the airwaves and has given his view of things, a couple versions of it. And i thought it might be a good idea put this video in the perspective of my world of law. Heres the law. Real simple. If youre going to eject a passeng passenger, under no circumstances can it be done with Unreasonable Force or violence. Thats the law. If Unreasonable Force and violence is used under a set of circumstances, the common carrier, United Airlines in this case, is responsible. For each of us in this room, as we bump along in a daytoday fashion, we owe each other an ordinary care standard. Im not to be careless and hurt you. Im not to be negligent and hurt you. But in the world of common carriers, they have the duty of care to provide protection and safety to its farepaying passengers. As we all saw on the video, that was not done. That was not done in this case. And i would defy anyone to suggest that there was not Unreasonable Force and violence used to help dr. Dao disembark that plane. So, the laws are there for the protection of each of us. Whats been extraordinary in just these few days since the event has been that the calls i have received from passengers, from employees of united, former employees of united, with respect to what we all saw. And the fact of the matter is, i have concluded the following, that for a long time, airlines, united in particular, have bullied us. They have treated us less than maybe we deserve. I conclude that based upon hundreds, literally hundreds of tales of woe, of mistreatment by united, is that heres what we want as a society. We want fairness in how people treat us, we want respect, and we want dignity. Thats it. Not a big deal. This seems so simple. Forget the law for a minute that requires common decency in the treatment of passengers, but just treat us with respect. Make us feel like you really care. And i must say, i dont believe its limited to the Airline Industry. I think Corporate America needs to understand that we all want to be treated in the same manner, with the same respect and the same dignity that they would treat their own family members. If they do that, wouldnt it be great . So, will there be a lawsuit . Yeah, probably. As you may know, we have taken a step. Monday theres a hearing at 10 00 in our local courthouse here in chicago to protect and preserve certain evidence were going to need down the line. Its just not a matter of throwing the video up and asking the jury, okay, who wins . So, its a. But dr. Dao, to i believe his great credit, has come to understand that hes the guy. Hes the guy to stand up for passengers Going Forward. Yesterd yesterday, mr. Munoz gave an interview on national television, and he was asked point blank, did dr. Dao do anything wrong . You know what he did . He hesitated. He hesitated. Maybe he thought, well, whered that question come from . But then he regrouped and he said no, he did nothing wrong. No one should have been treated the way he was treated, stating the obvious. But he didnt state it initia y initially. Initially, he backed up his people. And that may be a big part of the problem, the culture. Its us against them. Well, were them, and this lawsuit, among other things, hopefully, will create a not Just National discussion, but international discussion, on how were going to be treated Going Forward. Whether its a matter of overbooking and i think perhaps thats whats going on. But if i understand what occurred last sunday here in chicago it wasnt even a matter of overbooking. It was a matter of, at the last moment, four employees had to get to louisville so they could go to work the next day on various flights. So, we have to figure out united has to figure out, the Airline Industry those figure out what do we do . We take money from people. We let them sit on the airplane, seat belted. Are we really going to just start taking them off then . Is that what we want as a society . Or maybe we keep some seats open for that emergency when a pilot, a copilot, a Flight Attendant those get to a destination unexpectedly. Maybe Airlines Need to start expecting the unexpected, but not at the expense, certainly not at the physical expense, of its paying passengers. So, our role steve, myself Going Forward, will be to just get the facts and get them out. And were going to be vocal about the whole subject of what we as a society say passengers are entitled to. Are we going to continue to just be treated like cattle . Bullied . Rude treatment . We all have enough, oh, i dont know, angst for flying as it is. A lot of stuff out there. But dont treat the people who help make you the corporate entity you are, like dr. Dao was treated. So, im going to ask crystal to she wanted to address you make any statement, and then if i havent been clear or you have further questions, im happy to answer them. Okay . Crystal . On behalf of my dad and my entire family, we would like to express our gratitude for the huge outpouring of prayers, love, and concern that we have received from all over the world these past few days. We would also like to thank the physicians, the nurses, and all the hospital staff that has taken care of my dad. It has been a very difficult time for our entire family, especially my dad, and we are truly grateful for your support. What happened to my dad should have never happened to any human being, regardless of the circumstance. We were horrified and shocked and sickened to learn what had happened to him and to see what had happened to him. We hope that in the future nothing like this happens again. Thank you so much again for your support. Okay. Yes, sir . [ inaudible ] associated press. There was talk early on that mr. Dao perhaps suggested that his race was an issue. Do you believe the fact that he was that his race played into this, that he was i personally do not. I dont think this is a matter of race at all. Ill share with you an email i got, actually late last night, from it actually sounds like an irishman to me on paper who suggested that dr. Dao was the modernday asian rosa parks. I dont think thats the case at all. I think what happened to dr. Dao could have happened to any one of us. Yes, sir, in the green tie. Special question for you can you state your name . Sure, Chris Vancleave from cbs news. When you saw this video, can you tell us what you were feeling . Just take us to sort of the emotion of what you were feeling when you saw this video thats certainly been replayed countless times now. And also if you could give us an update on how your father is doing. Could you do that . Feel free, crystal. If you dont want to, dont, but like i said earlier, we were completely horrified and shocked at what had happened to my father when we learned of the incident. Seeing it on video made those emotions exacerbated. My dad is healing right now, and thats all i have to say about that. [ inaudible question ] i can tell you that he was discharged late last night. That he did, in fact, suffer a significant concussion as a result of disembarking that plane, and i can also tell you that he had a serious broken nose, injury to the sinuses, and he is going to be undergoing shortly Reconstructive Surgery in that regard. There have been a lot of inquiries about did he really lose any teeth . Yeah, he lost two front teeth. But concussions are sort of an iffy condition. I dont know, you know, ultimately, long term. Hopefully, there will not be any significant repercussions because of that, but he is hes shaken. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Tom, Steve Forrest with cnn. Yesterday, oscar munoz of united said in his interview that he and his people have reached out to dr. Dao but have had no luck. Have either of you gentlemen heard from united and spoken directly, even to munoz or his people or the family . The answer is no. I have not heard anything, either. To the best of my knowledge and im sorry. I have not heard it from united either. And i asked crystal this morning whether or not her family had voice message or something, and the answer is no. Yes, maam. My name is jessica pong from the chinese daily newspaper journal. I have a question for crystal. Did your family reach out to china . Because i think he mentions ive been selected because im chinese. So were just wondering, can you [ inaudible ] my parents immigrated from vietnam. So nothing with china . No. Yes, sir. Derek henkel, afp. I wonder, could you talk a little bit i think a lot of us were wondering what was going through your fathers mind when he was holding on to the post and saying, just kill me, just kill me. Can you talk about kind of i know he was on a Long International flight. Can you talk about what his mental state was and what he was trying to express there . I think i can, if you dont mind, only because i asked him that question. Heres what he told me. He said that he left vietnam in 1975 when saigon fell. And he was on a boat. And he said he was terrified. He said that being dragged down the aisle was more horrifying and harrowing than what he experienced in leaving vietnam. That was his response to me. So, i give it to you. Yes, sir. The Chicago Department of aviation officers are not united im sorry, you are . Vince. [ inaudible ] with cbs 2 news. Thank you. The Chicago Department of aviation officers are not unite ed employees. True. So, what is uniteds responsibility for their actions . Real simple. The airplane is under the control of the pilot. The pilot controls everything. Hes the boss. Hes actually the captain of the ship. And so, mr. Munoz, smartly, i think, said, you know, we goofed up, united. We goofed up. Its our responsibility. Because under the law, the captain of the ship, United Airlines, in this case, is responsible for what occurs on that. Should this forceful, violent my word exercise of police power have been allowed once it was viewed and seen by the flight crew to continue . No. It shouldnt have. So, were these three officers, these stormtroopers for a moment, doing the right thing . No, not at all. This was not this was not a troubled passenger. This was not a nut job. This was not a threat to anybody. Should he have been unceremoniously dragged out of that plane the way he was . Hes a 69yearold man. Is that really the way we want to treat the aged . Does the city of chicago bear any responsibility for the officers actions . Yes. They are employees of the city of chicago. The city of chicago is yeah. Just because united is responsible doesnt mean the city of chicago isnt also responsible. That will all be sorted out, but more than one can be responsible for a single event. In this case, i believe thats the case. Yes, maam. Fox 32. Do you know anything right now about those officers useofforce training . Is that one of the things youll be looking at . Because it seems there are several instances where they could have used a different tactic to get that gentleman out of the seat. Correct. So, great question. A lot of people have asked, well, why dont you just sue . Why are we fooling around here . Because were not ready to sue. Were doing our due diligence. When we file our lawsuit, its going to be because everything, every word, every preposition is in that lawsuit for a reason. We have been getting calls from people who used to work for the Aviation Department, who trained these officers, and nothing, nothing in the training, i submit, as it will be proven, says in a nonconfrontational situation, where the other passengers are in jeopardy, should this type of conduct ever be utilized, or force utilized. So, there you go. Quick question. Phil lebeau with cnbc. Do you view this situation as an isolated incident, or you say youve heard from other united employees, do you look at this airline as having a culture of disrespecting customers . Well, thats a different question. I mean, there is clearly, clearly i have learned enough from people out there who have contacted us that, yeah, i would say there is a culture of disrespect, of rudeness, but whats unfortunately occurred here in dr. Daos case is rudeness, bullying customers, has gone the next step now to physical injury. So, i dont know if its society as a whole that everybodys just angry. I dont know what it is, but this is a doctor who was originally asked to buy a voucher, you know, get a free ticket, whatever, and he said, no, i have a practice, i have to go work tomorrow and treat patients, which is true. So, he was singled out for reasons maybe were going to find out in this discovery process of the lawsuit, but i dont know what they are. Ive already answered what i believe they arent. But the fact of the matter is, yeah, there are a lot of angry people out there, united customers, united employees. So, yeah, its something that mr. Munoz and his people need to look at, because the Public Relations problems that they have arent just limited to this video. Yes, maam. Leah pope, abc 7 here in chicago. Actually a question for ms. Dao, if you dont mind. So many people have learned about your father through this video. What do you want people to know about your father, who he is, not just these few seconds of video that weve seen . Thank you for your question. My dad is a wonderful father. He has raised with my mother five Great Children who have gone on to do great things and will continue to do great things. He is a loving grandfather. And at the end of the day, that is the person who we are trying to protect and take care of. Thank you. [ inaudible ] as my immediate family and my husband and children are here in chicago, we are deeply affected by it. Our lives have been interrupted and our normalcy is not where it was on sunday morning. Furthermore, my siblings, who all have thriving careers and are in graduate schools, their lives have been interrupted. And as some of you may know, theyre in the health care field, and they are trying their best to do their job without further interruption from local media, whomever it might be, stepping into their lives right now. That handsome gentleman in the silver hair. Thanks. Larry ellen from fox news. Your lawsuit may have longterm consequences, but what would you like to see in the short term from united, from other airlines, from oscar munoz . Well, i think short term, they need to i mean, mr. Munoz said, you know, theres going to be an internal investigation, et cetera. Right now, all airlines, they need to come out and figure out this overbooking situation as it exists today. And whether thats a how high will they go . And eventually, somebodys going to say, yeah, ill leave. Theyve got to figure out a way short term to solve what im calling the overoverbooking situation that we as consumers are being faced with. So, i think thats the biggest problem. I dont think anybody has to tell any airline, any police force, to not do what we all saw on the video. I think in the short term, that will never happen again. Im hopeful. As a followup, do you see yourself Going Forward on a battery theory, infliction of Emotional Distress . Well, thats all part of it. I mean, under our system, the elements of damages include physical injuries, mental injuries, emotional injuries. So, yeah, i mean, we dont know the extent of them, so i have no clue where thats going to lead us as far as dr. Dao goes. And again, i stand here and i say i hope he makes a full and complete recovery. Thats the hope. But the fact of the matter is, these elements of damages, the Airlines Need to be aware of, because if they continue to physically abuse us, thats going to be problematic. Yes, maam. Does the city and you are . Sorry, marney pipe with the daily herald. The city had indicated that in some way, dr. Dao had represented some sort of a Security Threat. Do you have any idea why they might have said that . I missed that altogether. The city had indicated that there was some sort of Security Threat possibly posed by dr dr. Dao. Do you have any idea why they might have said that . You know, thats not helping their pr image either, is it . Theyre no thats ridiculous what would his conspiracy be . Conspiracy to do what . Could you talk about the citys response . Pardon me . Could you talk about the citys response . You talked about uniteds response. Could you talk about the city and the airports response . I understand theres going to be in the chamber of the aldermen today a discussion with the Aviation Department people. So, i have not heard a response from the city, so i dont know what their