Suspect Who Led Police On Chase In Stolen Cop Car Before Being Fally Shot Identified
GLENDALE (CBSLA.com) — Authorities on Wednesday identified the man who stole a West Covina Police car on Sunday before before being fatally shot by officers.
The Coroner identified the suspect as Gevork Alachadzhyan, 45, of North Hollywood.
Alachadzhyan led police on an hour-long chase from West Covina to downtown LA to North Hollywood Glendale at speeds approaching 100 mph Sunday evening, according to the sheriff's department.
When the chase reached Glendale around 10:30 p.m., a police SUV violently crashed into the driver's side door of the stolen cruiser to make it stop in a Glendale parking lot.
Alachadzhyan then put the cruiser in reverse, with West Covina police pinning it against a concrete wall and metal pole in the 100 block of South
Glendale Avenue.
The stolen car's wheels smoked obscuring Sky9's view from above.
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On the ground, officers said Alachadzhyan then allegedly tried to remove weapons between the passenger and driver's seat. According to the sheriff's department. officers from the West Covina Police Department then fired at Alachadzhyan, hitting him several times.
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the sheriff's department, Alachadzhyan called Glendale police about 90 minutes earlier to request some sort of assistance in West
Covina, and West Covina officers were dispatched to assist him, sheriff's Sgt. William Cotter said.
Alachadzhyan was offered a ride to the West Covina-Covina border, according to the sheriff's department. The officer got out of the car and opened the back door of the cruiser so Alachadzhyan could get out.
However, Alachadzhyan ran to the driver's side door, got in and commandered the vehicle. The officer tried but failed to regain control of the cruiser. Alachadzhyan then took off in the car.
The suspect was heard on police scanners shouting and incoherently.
The OIS remains under investigation, according to the sheriff's department.
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