UPDATE 3-Man tasered, arrested at Los Angeles International Airport

May 20, 2015 7:15 PM

(Adds that suspect was unarmed, faces charges)

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES, May 20 (Reuters) - An unarmed man who was not cooperating with Transportation Security Administration officers in a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport was tasered and arrested on Wednesday, an airport police spokeswoman said.

The man was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment following the incident, Sergeant Belinda Joseph of the Los Angeles Airport Police said in a statement.

Joseph said the man, who was not identified by authorities, was not cooperating with TSA officers in a screening area of Terminal 6 at LAX.

As airport police responded to the scene the man continued to be uncooperative and pushed past an officer, she said.

"Airport police followed the man and detained him at Gate 66. As he was being taken into custody a use of force occurred involving a Taser," Joseph said.

The man, who was not found carrying any weapon, was expected to face charges of trespassing in a sterile area of the airport and restricting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer.

An investigation was ongoing into the incident, according to the statement. An airport police spokeswoman could not immediately be reached to provide further details.

A spokeswoman for Los Angeles International Airport said the incident did not affect any departing or arriving flights.

In November of 2013 a man walked into Terminal 3 of the airport carrying a semi-automatic weapon and opened fire, killing a security screener.

Paul Anthony Ciancia was taken into custody after the shooting rampage, in which three other people were also wounded.

Ciancia is charged with murder and attempted murder of federal officers as well as committing an act of violence at an international airport and firearms offenses and federal prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty against him.

A review of the incident by Los Angeles World Airports, which runs LAX, later faulted law-enforcement agencies for communication lapses during the initial response. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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