A man suspected of trying to kill a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy was arrested early Monday in Beverly Hills after a nearly 12-hour standoff.
The Beverly Hills Police Department received an alert at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday that a gray Ford pickup truck wanted by the sheriff’s department had been located in its jurisdiction by an automated license plate recognition system, police said.
Officers located the vehicle near San Vicente and Beverly boulevards, near Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where the pickup evaded police after an attempted traffic stop.
The initial incident occurred at approximately 2:55 a.m. Sunday as deputies assigned to the South Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station attempted a traffic stop near the intersection of 104th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard in the unincorporated Lennox area, near the Inglewood city limits, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
“During the traffic stop, deputies observed a handgun in the driver’s waistband. As deputies attempted to pull the suspect out of the vehicle, the suspect began to drive away, dragging the deputy approximately 150 feet,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement, noting that the deputy was taken to a hospital and later released.
A description of the suspect vehicle was then entered into a law enforcement system, which assisted the Beverly Hills Police Department in locating it at approximately 3 p.m.
Police said the pursuit ended when the driver collided with a second vehicle near Burton Way and Robertson Boulevard, where officers surrounded the pickup.
Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau personnel responded at approximately 4 p.m. Sunday to the 8800 block of Burton Way, near Robertson Boulevard, to assist police with a barricade incident where the suspect allegedly held a woman hostage in the vehicle at gunpoint, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Several de-escalation tactics were employed at approximately 4 p.m. by both the Beverly Hills Police Department Crisis Negotiation Team and sheriff’s Crisis Negotiation Team personnel in an hours-long standoff.
The suspect released the hostage just before 11 p.m. Sunday, sheriff’s officials said.
The hostage did not suffer any apparent injuries, sheriff’s Deputy Tracy Koerner said.
Sheriff’s officials said the suspect exited his vehicle after Sheriff’s Enforcement Bureau deputies had strategically used a chemical agent at approximately 2 a.m. Monday, which compelled him to step out.
After exiting the vehicle, the suspect continued to allegedly be noncompliant with law enforcement orders, resulting in the use of ”less-than-lethal” tactics with the use of a sheriff’s dog to assist with taking the man into custody.
He was taken to a hospital for medical clearance and later booked at the South Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station on suspicion of attempted murder, sheriff’s officials said.
The deputy suffered minor injuries after he was struck by the pickup, Koerner said.
Anyone with additional information on the case was urged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.