A man stole a Los Angeles Police Department patrol SUV with an officer inside the vehicle Sunday morning and crashed into several cars at a downtown Los Angeles intersection.
An officer was working as part of a security detail on 12th Street, location of the infamous “Graffiti Towers,” at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday when she was attacked by a man who jumped in the patrol SUV and took off, police said. At some point, the officer was ejected from the SUV.
“My thought was, ‘Why is this patrol car doing about 60 to 70 mph, flying with no lights?” said witness Tracy Lee.
The man crashed into several cars, scooters and a bike rack during the brief chase before abandoning the SUV near 8th and Figueroa streets. He was arrested a short time later.
At least three people, including the officer, were hurt, but none of their injuries were life-threatening.
Video showed a heavily damaged minivan and another SUV at the intersection about four blocks from where the patrol SUV was stolen.
Streets were closed for the police investigation.
The LAPD told NBC Los Angeles that the officer was assigned to work security at the vacant high-rise buildings known as the “Graffiti Towers,” which have been targeted by vandals.
Construction on the Oceanwide Plaza development started in 2015 with the goal of bringing condos, a hotel, retail and state-of-the-art signage to downtown Los Angeles, but work stopped in 2019 when the Chinese developer ran out of money.
Tracey Leong, NBC Los Angeles
Tracey Leong is a reporter with NBC Los Angeles.
Jonathan Lloyd, NBC Los Angeles
Jonathan Lloyd is managing editor of digital news for NBC Los Angeles.
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