Airline Vigilante

This report is incomplete and the report linked by Schneier you have to pay for. I want to know what the Vigilante's justification was for his actions. Here's what is quoted.

In Mr Stein's case, he was pounced on as the crew and other travellers looked on. The drama unfolded less than an hour into the flight. As he settled down with a book and a ginger ale, the father-of-three was grabbed from behind and held in a head-lock.

"This guy just told me his name was Michael Wilk, that he was with the New York Police Department, that I'd been acting suspiciously and should stay calm. I could barely find my voice and couldn't believe it was happening," said Mr Stein.

"He went into my pocket and took out my passport and my iPod. All the other passengers were looking concerned." Eventually, cabin crew explained that the captain had run a security check on Mr Stein after being alerted by the policeman and that this had cleared him. The passenger had been asked to go back to his seat before he had restrained Mr Stein. When the plane arrived in New York, Mr Stein was met by apologetic police officers who offered to fast-track him out of the airport.

And

In a twist to the story, Mr Stein has since discovered that there is only one Michael Wilk on the NYPD's official register of officers, but the man retired 25 years ago. Officials have told the architect that his assailant may work for another law enforcement agency but have refused to say which one.

I could find nothing specifying what Stein alledgedly did that was either suspicious or illegal. There is no report of his arrest. So, WTF? The only thing I've found in comments or otherwise was that he looked Arab. This guy has a lawsuit, and truthfully, I hope he rips that guy a new asshole. That is, if he can find him, since apparently the airline is refusing to identify who that LEO was. I'm pretty certain his lawsuit against the airline will win a lot of cash.

This doesn't make me want to fly any more. I'm not sure how I would take it if someone did that to me. Probably I would take it for remainder of the flight, but if he didn't produce some ID and a gun, I'm pretty certain I would wait until the flight landed then put in the boot. No doubt if you fought back on the flight you'd end up worse for wear.

This crap is inexcusable. You can't play vigilante because you have suspicions. If someone starts acting obviously freaky or starts attacking people, that is one thing. But if you're just sitting there, that isn't a reason.