Deputy US marshal charged with entering an aircraft while drunk after arrest on misconduct allegations

A deputy U.S. marshal was charged Thursday with entering an aircraft while drunk after he was arrested in London over allegations of misconduct while on a flight from New York, according to local authorities.

Michael Brereton, 39, was arrested Wednesday upon landing at Heathrow Airport in London after a flight crew alerted officers of an onboard disruption, the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to The Hill in a statement. Metropolitan police did not provide any further details on the reported incident, except to say the flight crew reported “a man was being disruptive onboard.”

Brereton is expected to appear in court in Uxbridge, England, on Friday, police said.

He was also arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, Metropolitan police told The Hill. No sexual assault charges have been filed, The Associated Press reported.

The news wire reported another deputy aboard the plane was held for a brief period but has since been released. A law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the AP the two deputies were on the flight to bring a suspect back to the U.S.

The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed it is aware of the detainment of two deputies and that is “takes seriously any allegations of misconduct by its employees.”

“The alleged actions of the employees do not reflect the professionalism of the thousands of employees of the USMS or its core values,” a spokesperson for USMS wrote in a statement.  “An investigation by UK law enforcement officials is ongoing, and the USMS is cooperating with them and other relevant agencies in this matter.”

This story was updated at 5:50 p.m.