Deputy U.S. Marshal charged with entering plane drunk after misconduct report on flight to London

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A deputy U.S. Marshal was charged in the United Kingdom on Thursday with entering an aircraft while drunk, after being arrested on allegations of misconduct aboard a flight from New York, London police said.

Michael Brereton, 39, was arrested when he landed at Heathrow Airport. The flight crew had contacted officers to report onboard disruptions from the federal agent, London police said in a statement. He is expected to appear in court Friday.

No court representative was immediately available for him, and a relative declined to comment when reached by phone. The Associated Press left an email message for the union that represents deputies.

The Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement that flight crew members reported that the marshal “was disruptive and had sexually assaulted other passengers and crew.” No sexual assault charges have been filed. The British offense of sexual assault is one person intentionally touching another with any body part or an object, without their consent.

Another deputy also aboard the plane was briefly detained but has since been released and returned. The two deputies were aboard the flight to transport a suspect back to the U.S., a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to publicly detail the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S. Marshals said in a statement that the agency takes allegations of misconduct by its employees seriously and it’s cooperating with British law enforcement.

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.