LA's Latest Chase Has Some Wondering Why Officers Didn't Aggressively Pursue Suspects On The Ground
SOUTH LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Even by Los Angeles' standards, Thursday's pursuit was unusual.
It involved the burglary suspects doing "donuts" on rain-soaked Hollywood Boulevard. They then dangerously weaved through traffic on narrow roads in the Hollywood Hills.
The vehicle came back down and traveled on the 101 Freeway where it narrowly missed a TMZ tour bus, according to footage.
During most of the chase, though, police cars weren't visible.
Why?
The LAPD says the law enforcement agency didn't aggressively chase the suspects on the ground for most of the pursuit due to multiple factors.
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"Weather, time of day, the traffic, the pedestrians," said LAPD Capt. Andy Neiman. "So we do something that's called tracking where the airship actually will follow the vehicle, the suspect, and the officers can back-off to quite a distance where the suspect doesn't even see them anymore."
Despite spike strips thrown out along the way, the pursuit ensued.
As they drove into South L.A., the duo received a warm reception by a big crowd. They were even given high-fives, hugs, and had time to take selfies.
Yet, still, no police cars were behind them.
"This was a burglary, which is important, and we want to put these people in jail but what's the cost," said Capt. Neiman. "We have to weigh that. We have to balance the safety of the public with the need to apprehend these individuals in a timely fashion."
Capt. Neiman says their eyes were on the suspects the entire time and police decided there was no need to rush in and arrest them. After about 10 minutes, sheriff's deputies put the cuffs on.
"There was no evidence of weapons at this time, the individuals were, it was quite comical, they were actually emptying their pockets, knowing or assuming they were going to jail," the captain said. "So
in our interpretation, there was some good, smarter policing that happened today."