This is a Southwest thing. Not a police thing.

Southwest told the people to leave, and then called the (airport) police to clear them out.

I mean, there were no options here for the officers. They asked people to leave. They said "No", so they offered them the next option which was arrest for trespassing. The one officer even followed up to clarify with the passenger that her ticket was canceled and that she needed to leave.

It was a lousy situation all around, and it mostly falls upon Southwest.

The police were not the "bad guys" here.