Despite Officials’ Appeal, Stations Air Car Chase

A high-speed rush-hour car chase through Hollywood and North Hollywood -- televised by at least two stations despite public officials’ concerns about such coverage -- ended peacefully Monday with the arrest of a man suspected of a street crime.

The pursuit came to a halt near Oxnard Street in North Hollywood after the suspect, Rafy Lusky, ran into his apartment building. He was arrested there by officers a few minutes later.

Throughout the more than 20-mile chase, which was covered live by two local television stations, LAPD cars followed but did not try to stop the man in his speeding 1985 red Toyota. The car ran several red lights and often drove at high speed on the wrong side of the road, narrowly missing other vehicles.

At one point, the driver of the Toyota, stuck in traffic on Sunset Boulevard, put his car in reverse and drove rapidly backward for nearly two blocks, past several pursuing police cars.

“He was a really good driver,” said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Ted Spicer.

In January, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted unanimously to prohibit LAPD officers from most vehicle pursuits -- those prompted by traffic infractions such as speeding or running a stop sign.

The new policy allows for chases when motorists are being sought for misdemeanors or felonies or in cases in which Los Angeles Police Department officers believe a crime is about to be or has just been committed.

Police said Monday’s chase began after officers from the LAPD’s Newton Division spotted what they thought was a street robbery or theft, Spicer said. Channels 2 and 7 provided live coverage of the pursuit.

Last week, Los Angeles’ top law enforcement officials made a public appeal to media bosses to reduce their coverage of police pursuits.

Flanked by Police Chief William J. Bratton and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Mayor James K. Hahn told a news conference that ceaseless coverage of car chases is dangerous and incites suspects to flee.

He said the broadcasts give incentive to “careless individuals who want their 15 minutes of fame.”

News executives said their coverage of chases, a staple of Southern California news broadcasts, is measured and responsible. None said they would agree to scale back the coverage in response to the appeal. Typically, car chases generate big ratings.