Police Charge Unruly Passenger Who Delayed Chicago-Bound Flight

(CBS) – Las Vegas police have announced charges against a 28-year-old man who allegedly stormed a Chicago-bound flight Monday evening -- a disturbance that drew wide attention on social media.

Stephan Kennedy pushed his way onto Southwest Airlines Flight 3630 around 7:30 p.m. and was restrained by the flight crew, police said. Las Vegas officers boarded the plane and removed Kennedy, who was initially cooperative before struggling as they tried to place him in handcuffs, a police spokesperson tells CBS 2.

Kennedy was charged with misdemeanor battery and resisting an officer, police said.

Cell phone video of the incident on Flight 3630 shows an airline employee pinning the man to the floor of the plane at McCarran International Airport.

Passengers said the man earlier had been holed up in the restroom while the plane was at the gate until employees kicked him off the flight. After he was kicked off, the man ran back onto the plane, and a crew member tackled him and pinned him down.

"He was already boarded, and he went into the bathroom, and they just told us they were trying to get him out of the bathroom, and they took him off the plane," Rick Alonzo said. "Next thing you know, he tried to fight his way back on, and that's when the Southwest guys came and got him."

Southwest Airlines said the unruly passenger appeared to be intoxicated. The flight eventually proceeded to  Chicago, about an hour late.

Kennedy was taken to the Clark County Detention Center, police said. No further details were available.