Authorities were trying to figure out Tuesday why an armed man mysteriously rammed his vehicle backwards into a squad car, engaged in a roadway chase and was then fatally wounded by officers in San Fernando.
Two police officers were in their marked San Fernando patrol car, waiting at a red light on Hubbard Street, according to Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies.
Suddenly, the man in front of them reversed his car, slamming into the squad car.
The suspect’s car sped forward with the damaged police car in pursuit, officials said.
A few blocks away, the driver crashed into a second car and then a signal pole at San Fernando Road at Hubbard Street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that was brought in to help with the investigation.
Witnesses told police they heard the officers order the man to drop a gun.
Deputies and police withheld the man’s name, pending notification of his relatives.
One other person was apparently taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries in the midday Monday incident, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
San Fernando police brought in sheriff’s homicide detectives to investigate the killing of the man, who was shot by San Fernando officers. Officers were trying to figure out why the man initiated the series of events by ramming the police car backwards.
— Staff and wire reports