Los Angeles police officers chased an alleged burglary suspect across the San Fernando Valley on Friday morning after the pursuit began in North Hollywood around 10:15 a.m., with the driver of a black Honda sedan at one point attempting to enter the 405 Freeway going the wrong direction near Granada Hills.
The Los Angeles Police Department was pursuing the suspect through multiple Valley communities, according to a live report from FOX 11 Los Angeles. After the attempted wrong-way freeway entry in Granada Hills, the suspect continued traveling southbound before making a U-turn, according to the outlet, continuing to lead officers across the Valley in the black sedan.
The chase is the latest in a string of LAPD pursuits across the San Fernando Valley this year, and it comes as the department continues to log a historically high number of chases citywide. LAPD recorded 1,116 vehicle pursuits in 2024, the department's highest annual total since 2018, according to The San Fernando Valley Sun.
Wrong-Way Freeway Moves Carry Their Own Charges
If the suspect is caught, the attempted wrong-way entry onto the 405 could carry legal consequences beyond a standard evading charge. California Vehicle Code Section 2800.4 makes driving against traffic while fleeing police its own distinct felony, while general wrong-way driving on a divided highway under Vehicle Code 21651(b) can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony depending on whether it results in injury or death, per the Fassonaki Law Firm.
Fleeing a pursuing patrol vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for safety is separately charged as felony reckless evading under Vehicle Code Section 2800.2, which is punishable by up to three years in state prison and fines as high as $10,000, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. And because the underlying allegation is burglary, entering an inhabited dwelling with intent to commit theft or a felony is classified under California Penal Code Sections 459 and 460 as first-degree residential burglary — an automatic felony carrying up to six years in prison and a strike under the state's Three Strikes law, per Kraut Law Group.
Valley Burglary Patrols Ramped Up Earlier This Year
The pursuit unfolds against the backdrop of an intensified LAPD presence in the San Fernando Valley following a spate of home break-ins. In April, Mayor Karen Bass directed the department to launch a high-visibility patrol surge along the Ventura Boulevard corridor, deploying specialized units, mobile license plate readers and air support, as reported by FOX 11 Los Angeles.
Even so, LAPD data from that same month showed burglary investigations in the North Hollywood Division had dropped 45% compared to the same period in 2025, even as localized break-in sprees kept residents on edge, according to CBS News Los Angeles. North Hollywood Division covers major Valley thoroughfares, including sections of Ventura Boulevard.
Most Pursuit Crashes Happen Fast, Study Shows
LAPD pursuits carry documented risks that extend well beyond the fleeing driver. An LAPD study presented to the Board of Police Commissioners found that nearly half of all people injured during department pursuits between 2018 and early 2023 were uninvolved bystanders, resulting in 496 bystander injuries and nine deaths across 4,203 total pursuits, according to the Los Angeles Times.
That same study found more than 75% of pursuit-related collisions occur within the first five minutes of a chase, with 53% covering a total distance of less than two miles — a pattern that underscores why supervisors are required to continually reassess whether a chase should continue. Under LAPD policy, officers may initiate pursuits for suspected felonies like burglary, but they and their supervisors must weigh a mandatory balancing test measuring public safety risk against the necessity of catching the fleeing suspect, a framework Hoodline detailed in its wrong-way Lake Balboa chase coverage last month.
The Los Angeles Office of the Inspector General released a focused review on July 14 evaluating LAPD pursuits that resulted in serious injury or death, part of the office's ongoing independent oversight of department operations for the Board of Police Commissioners. As of Friday afternoon, the suspect in the black Honda sedan remained at large, with the pursuit still active across the San Fernando Valley.
