A nearly two-hour police chase through Los Angeles ended with a felony suspect tackled at a budget motel, but not before a bystander turned the live helicopter broadcast into a spectacle by dropping his pants on camera.
The pursuit began around 9 p.m. on a Wednesday night when LAPD officers gave chase to an unnamed suspect driving a white Lexus sedan through residential streets in Los Angeles. The suspect was wanted for allegedly assaulting a police officer and faced multiple additional felony charges. What followed was a slow, grinding crawl across two freeways and several neighborhoods that tied up officers for the better part of the evening.
After winding through surface streets in North Hollywood, the suspect steered the Lexus onto the 101 Freeway and then the 5 Freeway, where the chase slowed to a near-absurd pace. The car limped along at roughly 30 miles per hour on a blown front tire while the driver chain-smoked cigarettes out the window, the New York Post reported.
About an hour and a half into the pursuit, LAPD officials were considering calling in the department's Metro Division or SWAT team, KTLA reported at the time. Whether either unit was ultimately deployed remains unclear. The suspect kept rolling.
The chase drew spectators out of their homes along the route. On residential streets, crowds gathered to watch the Lexus creep past with a trail of patrol cars behind it. One bystander seized the moment in a way no one asked for: he dropped his pants and flashed his bare backside at the passing motorcade. The news helicopter covering the pursuit zoomed its camera out, fast.
The social media account Hear in LA captured the mood on X, posting a screenshot and writing: "only in LA / slow speed car chase brings out a partial / full moon / more like a waxing gibbous."
It was, by any measure, a very Los Angeles evening.
Nearly two hours after the pursuit began, the suspect finally pulled the battered Lexus into a Rodeway Inn in North Hollywood. He abandoned the car, ran inside, and made it to the second floor before officers cornered him. They tackled him and took him into custody without further incident, according to the report.
The suspect's name has not been publicly released. Beyond the alleged assault on a police officer, the specific felony charges he faces have not been detailed. The suspect was also reportedly tied to an Armenian gang, though the source of that claim is unclear. No injuries to officers, the suspect, or bystanders were reported.
As for the bystander who bared himself on live television, no arrest or citation has been publicly announced.
A city that treats police chases like prime-time entertainment got exactly the show it deserves, and the rest of the country got another reminder of what passes for normal in Los Angeles.
