A Massachusetts court official has declined to charge a New York man accused of slapping a male flight attendant on a JetBlue flight from Florida.

State police say 48-year-old Bryan Garnett of Utica was arrested at Boston's Logan International Airport when the flight from West Palm Beach landed Tuesday.

Garnett says he instinctively pushed the flight attendant's hand away when the steward tried to adjust his seat while he slept.

A district court clerk later determined that the encounter occurred while the aircraft was on the ground in Florida. The clerk says Massachusetts has no jurisdiction to charge Garnett with interfering with a flight crew and assault and battery.

Suffolk County prosecutors say JetBlue will have to pursue charges in Florida. A JetBlue spokeswoman says the airline wasn't aware of the decision.

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