A Southwest Airlines pilot, pulled out of a cockpit and arrested on allegations that he tried to fly while impaired, blamed nicotine pouches when police told him he smelled of alcohol, according to law enforcement video released on Thursday.

David Allsop was minutes away from going wheels up at the helm of Flight 3772 out of Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, bound for Chicago Midway, when airport police confronted him on the jetway at Gate 2 at about 6 a.m. on Jan. 15, according to a Chatham County Police Department report. David Allsop had said he only had “a few beers” the night before, but police said he smelled of alcohol shortly before a scheduled flight . When asked if he’d been drinking recently, Allsop said “10 hours ago” he had had “a few beers,” police body camera foot

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