Police: Idaho man hit teen on flight over phone

Police say a man on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Boise struck a teenager who refused to turn off his cell phone.

Officers arrested 68-year-old Russell E. Miller at the Boise airport on suspicion of misdemeanor battery Tuesday. He has been released from jail on bond.

KBOI-TV reports witnesses told police the 15-year-old was playing games and listening to music on an iPhone when flight attendants instructed passengers to turn off their electronic devices. Boise police spokesman Charles McClure say the plane was leaving the Las Vegas airport at the time.

Witnesses say when the teen didn’t respond, Miller got angry and struck the boy in the arm.

Miller says he “tapped” the teen on the shoulder after he refused to turn off the phone. He told the Idaho Statesman that he may have “overreacted,” but that he did not punch the teen.