LONDON -- Naomi Campbell has been charged with assaulting two police officers during a "luggage rage" incident at Heathrow Airport, her lawyer and prosecutors said Thursday.
The 38-year-old supermodel was charged when she reported to Heathrow police station to answer bail over the April 3 fracas, lawyer Simon Nicholls said.
The Crown Prosecution Service said Campbell faced five charges -- three counts of assaulting a constable, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of using threatening, abusive words or behavior to the crew of the airplane. Police said the assault charges related to two officers.
Campbell was ordered to appear at a west London magistrates' court June 20.
Witnesses said Campbell was aboard a British Airways plane due to take off for Los Angeles when she became involved in a dispute over her luggage. Tens of thousands of bags had been separated from their owners at Heathrow's Terminal 5 after its chaotic opening in late March.
Campbell was removed from the plane and held for eight hours at the airport police station before being released on bail.
She arrived at the police station Thursday in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes. She left without speaking, but her lawyer said the supermodel was "bitterly disappointed" that she had been charged.
"Prosecutors in this case have decided she needs to be prosecuted in the magistrates court. She respects that decision and she hopes this matter is dealt with expeditiously," Nicholls said.
The assault charges carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison and/or a fine of up to US$10,000. The other charges are punishable by a fine.
Campbell has a history of assaulting assistants and employees.
In 2000, she pleaded guilty in Toronto to an assault charge for beating an assistant while making a film in Canada in 1998. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Campbell expressed remorse and was released without punishment or a criminal record.
In January 2007, Campbell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in New York for throwing her cell phone at her maid in a dispute over a missing pair of jeans. She was ordered to do community service and attend a two-day anger-management program.
