A shirtless man led police on a chase through the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) before being tackled and tased.
Shirtless Man Tries To Evade Cops On Tarmac At LAX
The incident occurred early on Saturday morning, July 6, 2024. Video captured by an American Airlines ramper shows a shirtless man running between airplanes in the alley between Terminal 4 and 5.
A lone police officer chased him on foot, with other officers essentially ringing him into a circle with their police cars. He was eventually tackled, tased, and subdued. While charged with battery and trespassing, it is thought the man had a mental health breakdown (possibly caused by a missed flight) that triggered the episode. Per an LAX Airport Police spokesperson:
“Yesterday, July 6th, at approximately 6 o’clock in the morning, a male passenger experiencing a mental health crisis, became irate, and exited Terminal 4 onto the airfield. Los Angeles Airport Police responded and during their attempt in taking the suspect into custody, a use of force occurred. Suspect was arrested for battery against a police officer, trespassing on airport property, and he was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.”
So why write about a man who is “clearly” suffering from mental health issues? Is it to poke fun at him? Is it to wish harm on him?
Not at all. Quite the contrary, I’m wondering how this happened in the first place? I realize that there are secure doors all over the terminal, but those typically require a key code or card scan in order to enter. I don’t think those doors open, even with alarms, without such credentials (though I’m not going to experiment next time I fly out of LAX…)
Think about the American Airlines Airbus A321neo he ran by as police chased him. Had those engines been turned up a bit more, he could have easily been sucked into one of them…or the police officer. Aircraft ingestion is no laughing matter.
CONCLUSION
A man was arrested at LAX after breaching the tarmac from Terminal 4 or 5 and then attempting to evade arrest as a police officer chased him. Thankfully, no one was hurt (despite running by active aircraft) and the man was hospitalized to undergo a mental health evaluation.
Any idea what prompted this incident in the first place?
Running by an operational plane is very dangerous and glad that no one got hurt.
If this was the only reaction from missing a flight, I’d say this is on the tamer side of things. Saw a couple of violent escapades due to missed flights during the summer of 2022 right when countries started to get rid of covid restrictions and they were not fun to watch.
LAX doesn’t have hundreds of policeman or security guards everywhere. Instances like this are of course rare and as such the airport will be a little sloppy in regards to security or how the employees will forget to lock doors, etc.
I was at LAX in 2016 when they had the bomb scare. There are emergency doors you can open and access the tarmac. I know from first hand experience as I ran out one. They then had to rescreen the entire airport. What a mess.
What terminal?
I was flying AA so it was either 4 or 5. I think it was 4. Near where you would cut over to TBIT
Maybe this person ate some moldy chicken on American? Or maybe it was the no service by inflight staff due to their contract negotiations? But then again, it is LA, so the surprise is… And if a reader is surprised, just head downtown for worse – live bowel dumps on the sidewalk, anyone? Wonder how the committee coordinating Olympic preparation will prepare visitors for such antics.
It’s possible he may have just simply followed an employee through a secured door after the employee opened the door.
“I don’t think those doors open, even with alarms, without such credentials”
That is not correct. The doors are alarmed but can open. (when the bar is pushed, a 15-second unlocking delay is sometimes used, but after that, the door will unlock. Or, in Portland, Oregon, and in many locations in Europe, there’s an emergency control next to the door that will unlock it without credentials.)
There need to be multiple exits from a building of this size, as required by applicable building and fire codes.
Why this is required: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire