Turning off AC ends California airport standoff

<p>OAKLAND, Calif. &mdash; Oakland International Airport was closed for nearly four hours Tuesday after a knife-wielding man threatened to harm himself but police managed to safely end the situation by turning up the heat, authorities said.</p>
<p>Shortly before 6 a.m., a man in his 30s passed a note to a Transportation Safety Administration employee at Terminal 1 that said: “Help me," KTVU-TV <a href="https://www.ktvu.com/news/deputies-de-escalate-tense-oakland-airport-situation-with-temperature-tasers?taid=606d16db17c58d00014f6316&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=trueanthem&amp;utm_source=twitter">reported.</a></p>
<p>The man, who was “highly agitated," then pulled a large knife and held it to his throat, Alameda County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Tya Modeste said.</p>
<p>The terminal was evacuated. Deputies negotiated with the man, who was threatening to harm himself, authorities said.</p>
<p>They distracted the man by turning off the air conditioning, causing him to become uncomfortably hot and remove some of his clothing, Modeste said.</p>
<p>At that point, deputies used a Taser on the man and a sergeant wrestled away the knife. The man suffered only a slight injury to his neck, the spokeswoman said.</p>
<p>He was taken away in an ambulance just before 10 a.m. The Sheriff’s Office said he would receive psychiatric help.</p>
<p>His name wasn’t immediately released.</p>