Man arrested after allegedly hitting Burbank officer with a car, leading police on a pursuit
A man suspected of assaulting a police officer and driving under the influence Wednesday night led authorities on a looping pursuit through the Los Angeles area that began and ended in Burbank.
Officers with the Burbank Police Department were investigating a suspicious vehicle near Riverside and Beachwood drives around 10:40 p.m. when they contacted the car’s lone occupant. Police reportedly smelled alcohol, and the man allegedly appeared to be drunk.
Sgt. Derek Green, a police spokesman, said in a statement that the officers also saw open alcohol containers in the car.
When the man refused to provide his identification, the officers ordered him to exit the vehicle. Instead he sped away from the scene, striking one of the officers with a car door, according to Green.
The officer suffered minor injuries.
Burbank and California Highway Patrol officers chased the fleeing 2016 Nissan Altima, which sped along the southbound 5 Freeway before moving onto the eastbound 10 Freeway. Green said the pursuit eventually looped back around onto the northbound 5 Freeway and returned to Burbank.
The car eventually rolled to a stop near the Olive Avenue off-ramp, and the driver exited the vehicle.
Television news footage from the end of the chase captured the driver appearing to use a vaping device as he stood on the freeway.
Green said the man, who was stumbling and shouting, refused to follow orders given by officers at the scene. He was eventually shot with a nonlethal projectile, and multiple officers from Burbank and CHP piled on top of him, taking the man into custody.
He has since been identified as 25-year-old Quardarrian Gray from Birmingham, Ala., and is currently being held on $50,000 bail. Green said he was arrested on suspicion of felony evading, driving while under the influence and assaulting a police officer.
