LA’s Very Own KTLA Channel 5 News reported recently that a police pursuit in the Woodland Hills area on Thursday, February 4 led to a long standoff after the driver tried to escape the police cordon by fleeing up an embankment.
According to officials with the Los Angeles Police Department, the incident began on Thursday, February 4, 2021 between 4:55 p.m. and 5:05 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST.) When a TV news helicopter arrived to observe the pursuit around 5:30 p.m., police were in pursuit of a black sedan that was weaving through multiple lanes of traffic in the area of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. The police managed to corner the vehicle in a dead-end cul-de-sac that was fenced in, but the driver drove through the fencing in order to escape. The car continued through a vacant lot full of soft dirt and became stuck in an embankment near the intersection of Ventura Boulevard and Royer Avenue in Woodland Hills.
A multi-hour standoff ensued while the driver refused to leave the vehicle, and when he did exit the vehicle, he brandished a knife and tried to run away. Police say the man was not acting rationally and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. He was booked on suspicion of multiple felonies.