Off-Duty Officer Improvises to Put Finger on Suspect

A San Fernando police officer has learned that a quick trigger finger can be an invaluable law-enforcement tool--especially if one has only a finger and no trigger.

Detective Jim Pollock learned as much after he stopped a man in a stolen pickup truck by brandishing his finger like a pistol.

Sgt. Michael Harvey said officers chased the stolen pickup toward the San Fernando police station at 120 MacNeil St. about 12:40 p.m. Thursday. Pollock, off-duty and unarmed, heard the chase on the police radio and ran outside the station, along with other officers, Harvey said. Pollock stationed himself in the parking lane.

“He was crouching in a combat-type hold,” Harvey said Friday. “But with his finger.”

The driver, apparently fooled by the ruse, stopped and surrendered.

Pollock’s colleagues also fell for the ploy. “When I saw Jim, I thought he had a gun too,” Harvey said.

Daniel Quijada Loya, 25, of San Fernando was arrested on suspicion of auto theft, evading arrest and reckless driving. He was being held in the San Fernando Jail in lieu of $1,500 bail.