Suspect in custody after lengthy standoff, chase through Compton
COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- A reckless driving suspect was in custody after a wild chase and a standoff with sheriff's deputies in Compton that lasted for hours.
The suspect was taken into custody more than four hours after the start of a standoff in which he was seen inhaling a gaseous substance from a balloon, and tossing tear-gas canisters back at deputies who were trying to get him to surrender.
They were finally successful in flooding the cab of his pickup truck with gas and took him into custody around 5:25 p.m.
The incident began with a report of a truck doing donuts in the street and the driver inhaling an unknown substance from a tank, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies arrived and tried to pull over the truck, but he took off, leaving them on a dangerous and meandering chase in the Compton area.
At least three times, deputies used a PIT maneuver to try to disable the vehicle. The truck spun around each time but then simply kept going, finding a path through the deputy vehicles.
By around 1 p.m. the slow-speed chase developed into a barricade situation after the man in the truck drove over a spike strip deployed by a deputy and the suspect made his way onto a dead-end street near the dry Compton Creek riverbed.
The driver remained inside the vehicle as deputies pinned his vehicle from behind, pointed their guns and issued commands.
During the standoff, he was was seen inhaling from a white balloon. It was not clear what substance may have been inside the balloon.
A mist of light smoke was visible as authorities fired less-lethal rounds, possibly filled with pepper spray, at the truck. Moments later, a group of deputies approached the vehicle and one of them apparently tossed a tear-gas canister into it. The man threw the canister back out the window.
At one point, the suspect climbed halfway out of the driver-side window and turned in the direction of authorities. What he said to them was unclear.
About 30 minutes into the standoff, the man put the truck in reverse but was blocked in by the patrol vehicle parked behind it. Smoke arose from the pickup truck's rear tires as they spun in place.
A Sheriff's Department helicopter monitored the situation from overhead, as did several news media choppers.
The barricade stalemate lasted more than four hours after the truck came to a stop.
