Traffic near downtown Los Angeles turned tense Thursday night as officers tailed a suspect vehicle while a television news helicopter tracked the chase from above. Details were scarce as the pursuit unfolded and authorities urged drivers to avoid the area while crews worked to get the situation under control.
According to NBC Los Angeles, KNBC/KVEA’s NewsChopper4 was overhead, and the station streamed live video as the vehicle moved through central L.A. The outlet described the situation as a developing incident and reported that officials had not immediately released information about any stops, injuries, or arrests tied to the chase.
How LAPD decides whether to keep chasing
The Los Angeles Police Department trains officers to run a continuous “balance test,” weighing the need to catch a suspect against the risk to everyone else on the road. Supervisors have the authority to call off a pursuit if conditions get too dangerous.
A fact sheet prepared for the Board of Police Commissioners documents 4,203 pursuits from 2018 through early 2023 and notes that 1,592 of those ended in traffic collisions. Air units were involved in tracking roughly 38 percent of pursuits, according to the LAPD's Board of Police Commissioners fact sheet. Those rules and numbers help explain why officers sometimes scale back or change tactics before a chase barrels into the busiest downtown corridors.
Other recent downtown activity
Downtown has seen more than one pursuit-related scare in recent days. On April 22, officers briefly chased a suspected stolen vehicle before losing sight of it near the northbound Harbor Freeway, MyNewsLA reported, a reminder that these incidents can quickly clog surface streets and freeway ramps while authorities work to secure the area.
If you have tips or video from Thursday night’s chase, the LAPD is asking the public to call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or submit information through the department’s online reporting channels. The department posts updates on serious incidents on LAPD Online, and this story will be updated as officials release more information.
