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LAPD officers takedown suspect fleeing on skateboard
A suspect was captured after fleeing from the Los Angeles Police Department on a skateboard on Monday, February 13.
LOS ANGELES - A police chase in South Los Angeles took a bizarre turn when the suspect attempted to evade officers on a skateboard and it was all caught on video.
Newly released video shows that on the morning of Monday, Feb. 13, officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were called to the intersection of Flower Street and Jefferson Boulevard regarding a stolen vehicle in South LA’s University Park neighborhood.
Once at the scene, officers were unable to find the person who reported the crime. However, officers stayed in the area and a short time later, they observed a truck with an attached trailer that matched the stolen vehicle’s description at the corner of Exposition Blvd. and Western Avenue in the Exposition Park area, two miles west of the initial location. At that point, a following ensued.
The suspect continued southbound onto Hoover Street from 40th Place where authorities said the suspect, later identified as Pedro Villalobos, slammed the trailer into a parked car.
Villalobos then tried going eastbound on 42nd and Flower streets where he lost control of the truck and the reported stolen vehicle swerved on the east side of the intersection. Officers attempted to get Villalobos to surrender. Instead, he got out of the vehicle and took off from the scene on a skateboard.
LAPD officers tried to stop him by running after him, while others continued following him in their patrol vehicles.
The video then shows the moment when one officer was able to take him down once he got out of his patrol vehicle. Villalobos nearly escaped by moving his shoulder forward when the officer tried to grab him.
While the officer was unable to reach the suspect’s shoulder, he was able to touch Villalobos’ upper back area, which caused him to lose his balance. After he fell, Villalobos was subsequently taken into custody.
Villalobos suffered an injury to his leg and was taken to the hospital.
No other injuries were reported in the incident. It is being investigated by Force Investigation Division detectives as a law enforcement-related injury.