Officer Thrown From Suspects’ Car Hood

A Los Angeles police officer escaped serious injury Friday after he was thrown from the hood of a car carrying two suspected shoplifters fleeing Northridge Fashion Center, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Officer Howard Leslie, 29, chased a man and woman through the mall’s parking lot to their car, Officer Patricia Service said. Leslie ordered them to stop as they drove away, but their auto struck Leslie, who fell onto the car’s hood, Service said.

The fleeing pair drove erratically through the parking lot and onto Tampa Avenue with Leslie still clinging to the hood, Service said. When the car swerved onto Tampa, Leslie was thrown to the pavement.

“The officer held his gun to the windshield and was yelling ‘stop--stop or I’ll shoot,’ ” said Linda Pallares, 18, of Northridge, who was driving to work at the mall when the car drove toward her.

Leslie was treated for cuts and bruises and a shoulder injury at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Service said. An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy chased a man identified as Carlos Soto, 35, of Van Nuys, on foot and took him into custody, Service said. The woman was still at large.