A man driving a pickup truck was chased by authorities in the Compton area Thursday before being cornered near a flood control channel, where a standoff ensued.
The chase led to Poplar Street and Wilmington Avenue, where the pickup came to a stop about 1 p.m. a few feet from the wash, pinned in from behind by law enforcement vehicles.
Deputies fired multiple pepper balls into the cab of the pickup, breaking a portion of the rear window, but the driver refused to the exit the vehicle.
After a few minutes, the man tried to back into the law enforcement vehicles, but could not get away, spinning the tires and sending up a plume of smoke into the air. The deputies tossed a gas container into the cab of that pickup, but the standoff continued.
The chase began after deputies tried to stop the motorist, believed to have been driving under the influence, according to reports from the scene. Deputies tried to force the pickup to stop, but it kept going. At times, the man appeared to have inhaled an unknown substance from a balloon.