LONDON — Naomi Campbell pleaded guilty on Friday to assaulting two police officers, stemming from a rage incident at London's Heathrow Airport in April.
The 38-year-old supermodel pleaded guilty to four of the six charges she was facing — two counts of assaulting a police constable; one of using threatening, abusive words or behavior to cabin crew; and one of using insulting, abusive, threatening behavior or disorderly conduct likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Campbell was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service within the next year. She must also compensate the arresting officers, as well as the captain of the flight that she disturbed. In addition, Campbell could face a jail term of up to six months and a fine of $10,000 for each assault charge.
On April 3, Campbell was preparing to catch a flight from London to Los Angeles aboard British Airways when a dispute began over her luggage. The plane's captain, Miles Sutherland, went as far as to tell Campbell personally that one of her bags had not been loaded onto the plane, to which she reportedly told him: "You are a racist, you wouldn't be doing this if I was white."
The police were then called in as the incident continued to escalate.
The incident was not the first time that Campbell's made headlines with her behavior. Over the years, she has been accused of and arrested for physically and verbally abusing several of her employees and associates, including Campbell pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless assault against her maid, Ana Scolavino, in Jan. 2007.
Following today's court hearing, Campbell's lawyer, Simon Nicholls, told BBC News: "All my client wanted [was] to be dealt with as though she was anybody else."
"She is very, very relieved it is over and she has been treated fairly," added her publicist, Alan Edwards. "The whole thing is regrettable, she knows that."
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