Evacuation order lifted after chemical odor drives officers from LAPD’s Central Division headquarters

Los Angeles police officers were allowed to return to their Central Division headquarters downtown Friday afternoon after it was briefly evacuated due to reports of a chemical odor in the building.

Firefighters were sent to the building at 251 E. 6th St. after the odor was reported shortly before 9 a.m., said Margaret Stewart, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Hazardous materials teams determined the odor was not dangerous, authorities said.

About noon, firefighters left the scene and police officers began to return to the building. Initially, three officers were evaluated and one was transported to a local hospital and treated for a “respiratory irritant,” officials said.

An additional officer was later taken to a hospital for possible dehydration, authorities said.

The LAPD building was evacuated as a precautionary measure, and no other buildings were affected, the Fire Department said.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra

UPDATES:

12:45 p.m.: This article was updated with hazardous materials teams determining that the odor was not dangerous and officers being allowed to return to the building.

This article was originally posted at 11:40 a.m.