LA Post: Shirtless man creates chaos on LAX tarmac after mental health crisis

A passenger at the Los Angeles International Airport, apparently suffering a mental health crisis, was taken into custody last month after running onto the tarmac and toward a plane.

According to Police Captain Karla Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Airport Police, a man, who has not been identified, "became irate" inside Terminal 4 around 6 a.m. and made his way out onto the airfield. Cell phone footage from KCAL shows the shirtless man sprinting near an American Airlines plane with an officer chasing him.

Once the man reached a nearby JetBlue aircraft, the officer tackled him on the tarmac. Law enforcement at LAX reported that they intervened with “a use of force” to apprehend the individual.

The police charged the man with battery against an officer. Rodriguez mentioned that he was also taken to a hospital for a mental health assessment.

In February, a similar incident unfolded at LAX after a man left through a security door. He ran onto an active runway area before being detained using "less-than-lethal force." That suspect suffered minor injuries.

Saturday's tarmac incident comes weeks after an elderly innocent bystander was knocked unconscious during a violent road rage fight outside LAX last month.

On May 31, two men were fighting when they knocked down a woman, who was standing near the airport's curbside passenger drop-off area. Security video shows the woman falling and immediately losing consciousness after being struck.

The Los Angeles Fire Department transported her to the hospital in critical condition at the time. She has since been released, according to police. Authorities identified one of the road rage suspects as Jasan Givens Sr. but have not named the second man.

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