United Airlines is under fire for the violent handling of a seated passenger, who was dragged off a flight by police after the airline mistakenly overbooked the flight and randomly chose him to leave to make room for airline employees who wanted seats.

Officers pulled him from his window seat and then dragged the bleeding man down the aisle as other passengers yelled at them to stop. A recording of the incident posted on social media sent people into an apoplectic rage over the carrier's heavy-handed response.

The swift social media condemnation was because the man wasn't being ejected for misbehaviour or a security threat. It was because United overbooked the flight, its staff chose him at random, and he didn't want to get bumped.

Video posted to Facebook and Twitter showed the man being dragged out of his seat and down the aisle of Flight 3411 Sunday night.