BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Suspect escapes after police chase

A police chase through Northeast Los Angeles and Glendale ended with a thud Saturday morning when police cars smashed into an allegedly stolen vehicle in Adams Square Saturday morning.

No injuries were reported, and the suspect disappeared from officers’ view despite five units each from the Los Angeles and Glendale police departments and four dogs from the Northeast LAPD division, officials said.

The chase began near the Eagle Rock Mall at 10:45 a.m. when officers spotted a reportedly stolen sport utility vehicle driving away from the shopping center, LAPD Sgt. Sanford Rosenberg said.

The driver of the cream-colored Lexus, with officers in pursuit, sped north along Eagle Rock Boulevard toward Adams Square approaching speeds of up to 60 mph, he said.

Five Glendale police officers joined the pursuit when the chase entered Glendale. It ended minutes later when an LAPD car hit the Lexus as the suspect tried to turn left at the angular intersection of Adams Street and Palmer Avenue, Rosenberg said.

“It’s a tricky intersection,” he said. “Our black and white hit the Lexus, and he ran. We set up a perimeter of four blocks. We locked it down right away, but he probably knew the area and embedded himself in a home. He’s gone.”

Two other parked cars were hit in the crash, but no bystanders or officers were injured, Glendale Sgt. Robert Breckenridge said. The state of the suspect is unknown.

The perimeter was called off hours later after an unsuccessful search for the suspect, who was described as a male Hispanic with a shaved head, Rosenberg said. The case will now be turned over to LAPD detectives.

This was the second crash in Glendale in less than a week, following the 100 mph chase on Wednesday through Glendale and North Hollywood in which the suspect also eluded police officers.

“It’s unusual,” Rosenberg said. “But it happens.”