High-speed pursuit suspect in custody after hours-long rooftop standoff

The driver of an SUV who led police on a high-speed chase at speeds topping 100 mph before he rammed through a residential gate, abandoned his vehicle and climbed to the roof of Culver City apartment complex has been arrested.

Shortly after 5 p.m., Los Angeles County sheriff’s special enforcement bureau deputies discharged a flash bang by a door on the rooftop. The man, who engaged police in an hours-long standoff, was startled and soon surrendered without a struggle, according to sheriff’s spokewoman Nicole Nishida.

The California Highway Patrol originally pursued the white SUV from the 14 Freeway to the 210, 5, 170 and 101 freeways as the SUV swerved in traffic and squeezed between cars.

The pursuit began about 12:42 p.m. in Palmdale after authorities tried to pull the driver over for alleged reckless driving and possibly driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, said CHP Officer Edgar Figueroa.

Officers clocked his speed at more than 100 mph.

Driving along the shoulder, the driver cut through traffic, drove through stop signs and made his way on to the streets of Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Koreatown and Hancock Park.

He finally stopped the SUV after crashing through the gate, then ran through a Culver City neighborhood in the 9600 block of Lucerne Avenue and climbed onto the roof of an apartment complex.

Some streets around the complex have been evacuated and blocked off, police said.

Live television footage showed a man drinking water and splashing himself with water from a roof water main valve.

He then tried to block a door leading onto the roof by using wooden planks and cinder blocks.

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