A man stole a Los Angeles Police Department patrol SUV with an officer inside the vehicle Sunday morning and crashed into several cars at an intersection in downtown Los Angeles.
An officer was working as part of security on 12th Street, site of the infamous “Graffiti Towers,” around 3:30 a.m. Sunday when she was attacked by a man who jumped into the patrol SUV and took off, police said. At some point, the officer was ejected from the SUV.
“My thought was, ‘Why is this patrol car going like 60 to 70 mph, flying without lights?’ said witness Tracy Lee.
The man crashed into several cars, scooters and a bike rack during the brief pursuit before abandoning the SUV near 8th and Figueroa streets. He was arrested shortly afterwards.
At least three people, including the police officer, were injured, but none of the injuries were fatal.
Video showed a heavily damaged minivan and another SUV at the intersection, about four blocks from where the patrol SUV was stolen.
The streets were closed for the police investigation.
The LAPD told NBC Los Angeles that the officer was assigned to work security at the vacant skyscrapers known as “Graffiti Towers,” which have been targeted by vandals.
Construction on the Oceanwide Plaza development began in 2015 with the aim of bringing state-of-the-art condominiums, a hotel, shops and signage to downtown Los Angeles, but work halted in 2019 when the Chinese developer ran out of money.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
