A mental health nurse who faced jail and the ruin of her career after becoming embroiled in a furious row with airport officials over a routine bag search has been cleared of any wrongdoing objectionable.
Heidi Mullis has been charged with assault and threatening behavior after she claimed she used the F-word and tied her hair back ‘like she was ready to fight’ when she and her family were stopped at passport control.
The 32-year-old woman, then pregnant, was on vacation with her partner and their four children in Bali.
They were rushing back as Britain was due to enter the first lockdown in March 2020.
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Although she feared her youngest child was showing symptoms of Covid, an argument broke out when Border Force officers at Manchester Airport insisted that all their luggage be searched.
The family was eventually allowed to leave before the child was rushed by ambulance to hospital.
However, Ms Mullis, who works in the intensive care unit of a psychiatric hospital, was later questioned by police.
She was first charged with assaulting a rescue worker – a charge that carries a maximum of 12 months in jail – and disturbing public order.
Ms Mullis, of School Lane, Woolton, Liverpool, faced six different hearings, including an appearance before a Crown Court judge, before the charges were reduced to disorderly conduct.
At Tameside Magistrates Court this week, Ms Mullis was cleared after her lawyer accused prosecutors of setting up a ‘bogus’ case against her, which he dismissed as a ‘joke’.
(Photo: Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)
She lost her unborn baby as a result of the incident, the court heard.
The collapse happened on March 24, 2020, as Ms Mullis and her family landed at Terminal One.
Border Force officer Kelly Clarke told the hearing: ‘I got in touch with his partner to do an examination of his bag. I gave five passports to the accused but kept the man’s passport.
“While dealing with him, she became very angry. I suggested that she go out and take her children with her as I didn’t think it was a place for children.
“But I could tell she was angry by her tone, the way she moved, her language and she kept coming at me.
“She also tied her hair back and I thought she was doing that so her hair couldn’t get caught in a fight. My interpretation was that it was going to get very volatile.
“I knew there were four children present and that we had to search every suitcase.
” She said, ‘why would I want to go out when you got my fucking man here?’ She was screaming and standing about a meter away and moving back and forth.
“I didn’t like the language she used in front of her children. It was impossible to argue with her. She told me to get the hell out of here.”
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Another Border Force officer, Assad Negori, said: “His demeanor was very angry, both of them were very angry and showed signs of aggression. She made me nervous and nervous that something could happen. I remember his swear words.”
Prosecutor Dave Holland said: ‘She became frustrated with the staff and her frustrations boiled over. It was not a particularly protracted incident, but a serious one nonetheless.
“There is no reason for the officers not to tell the truth. She has a clear reason to lie.”
Ms Mullis told JPs: ”We had been in Bali for two weeks but that was just when Covid was hitting. We heard horror stories that it was like a zombie farm and the shops ran out of food.
“My baby was sick and I didn’t know what it was and I didn’t want their staff around my child.
”There were a lot of emergency flights that week, my child was sick and we had just finished a 20 hour journey. I just wanted to go home – it was supposed to be a vacation to remember, but it ended up being a nightmare.
”Going through custom is never easy. I was apprehensive about my son and wanted to get out of the airport and when the staff intervened it was the last thing we wanted.
”But I was not aggressive. I work in pressure cooker situations and need to stay calm.
“I never yelled, yelled or swore at the customs officer. I was six weeks pregnant at the time and ended up losing that child.
“The only reason I put my hair up was because it was really hot. I was pissed off and hungry and six weeks pregnant.
“I’ve never punched anyone in the face in my life and never thought that pulling my hair up could be considered aggressive.
“Getting a criminal conviction means I lose my job. It’s my job to stay calm and patient and I’m a good nurse. I have glowing references from all my managers.
“I was spat on at work and never fought back – I would never put my job on the line. It was a fabricated story.”
His lawyer Brian Jackson said: “There has never been a situation in my work where I have heard the prosecution say that their witnesses had no reason to lie, so they should be believed. It shows how the prosecution’s case is false.
”She is a responsible member of society and has no previous convictions. Why would she behave like this?
”She is well regarded as a community mental health nurse. She was six weeks pregnant at the time and had a child she thought might have had COVID.
“It just doesn’t hold up. Frankly, this whole impeachment thing is a joke and I have no idea why it persists.”
Dismissing the case, JP Veronica Heap said: ‘In our assessment we found Ms Clarke and Mr Negori to be very credible and reliable witnesses.
“But we also found Ms Mullis to be a very credible witness and we believe this was not a source of harassment, alarm or distress.”
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