LAPD bodycam: Suspect bitten by K-9 after stolen car chase, crash
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles police have released video of an incident in which a suspect fled from officers in a stolen car, crashed into a vehicle, and kept attempting to flee even after he was bitten by a police K-9.
Bodycam video shows frightening encounter
The incident happened Feb. 17 near the area of San Vicente Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, when the automatic license plate reader in an LAPD cruiser alerted officers to a reported stolen Lexus sedan.
Officers started following the vehicle and requested backup when it quickly took off thorough residential streets. They chased after the vehicle but turned a corner to find it had smashed into another car.
Video shows the suspect, later identified as Ian Jimenez, 21, of Los Angeles, run away into the nearby neighborhood. You can see him hop over several fences.
Officers chased after him and soon tracked him to a backyard on Masselin Avenue. They warned him about the K-9 through a loudspeaker.
"Put down all weapons, come out with your hands raised, and follow directions," an officer is heard saying. "If you do not, a police dog will be used to find you. When the police dog finds you, do not move or you may be bitten."
Soon after, the K-9 unit released their dog into the backyard. As officers approached, they saw Jimenez wrestling with the K-9, which had bitten his arm and was attempting to subdue him. At one point the video even shows what appears to be Jimenez biting the dog back and at another point trying to get the animal into a headlock.
"Hey! Let go of my dog!" said the handler. "Let go of him!"
"He's going to rip off my arm!" the suspect replied in a panic.
The handler called off the dog and the other officers stood with their less-lethal weapons ready. They shouted at him to turn around.
Instead, he takes off on foot running again, then hops a fence and temporarily gets away.
But he was being tracked by a police helicopter and a second K-9 team eventually took him into custody after he held the dog at bay with a chair.
Jimenez was later treated at a hospital for dog-bite wounds. He is now facing charges that include fleeing police, hit-and-run, petty theft, and driving a vehicle without the owner's consent.
