Three-hour pursuit of a stolen concrete pump truck ends with the suspect in custody
A three-hour-long, relatively slow-moving pursuit involving a stolen Atomic Concrete Pumping truck ended as the driver came to a stop with two blown-out tires in Canoga Park, and surrendered to police.
The truck was stolen while an employee of Atomic Concrete Pumping was filling the gas tank.
Around 7:20 a.m. police were following the truck with the cement mixing trailer attached at Tampa Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard in Northridge as the truck continued at slower speeds, following most traffic laws.
The truck was involved in a hit-and-run accident before police began pursuing it and rammed a car at Sherman Way and Tampa Avenue to get through stopped traffic as it was being followed by police. The driver was then involved in another fender bender as he made his way along the roadway.
The pursuit continued in a bizarre fashion as other vehicles on the roadway intervened with the driver of the truck in attempts to slow, or possibly stop the pursuit.
Officers to laid spike strips along Topanga Canyon Boulevard, but the truck eluded the strips.
The driver of the truck made several U-turns along Topanga Canyon Boulevard, changing directions and even driving slowly through parking lots.
He was seen grabbing a yellow can in his truck, holding it to his mouth, then continuing to drive on in an agitated state.
Police said a PIT maneuver would not be conducted because of the size and weight of the truck. Around 8 a.m., tactics moved from pursuit mode to monitoring.
Scott Reitz, ex-LAPD officer, said the switch in operations is meant to decrease the anxiety of the driver to encourage a stop.
"This guy literally has no idea what he's doing," said Reitz, commenting on the pursuit.
Police made several attempts again to slow the truck with spike strips, and the concrete pump trailer was seen driving over one of the strips around 9:22 a.m. Around this time, the driver's erratic behavior continued as he put on a sweatshirt and sunglasses.
The truck stopped at Ventura Boulevard and Kelvin Avenue, around 9:28 a.m., looking like the hours-long pursuit may end, but it took off again.
"This is well beyond a simple misdemeanor, he's going away for quite some time," commented Reitz.
From the view of SkyCal, the right front tire of the truck was seen rolling off from the truck at Victory Boulevard and Owensmouth Avenue, and around 9:53 a.m, it was visible that both tires on the right side of the truck were blown off,
At 10:22 a.m., three hours after the pursuit began, the driver uneventfully just came to a stop and got out of the truck -- ending the pursuit. Police took the man into custody.
In the aftermath of the pursuit, it was discovered that the yellow can the suspect was seen holding during the pursuit was beer. It was found sprayed throughout the truck's cab along with other trash left behind from the suspect.
