Police try multiple PIT maneuvers during bizarre, slow-speed chase in San Fernando Valley

A driver led Los Angeles police on a bizarre, slow-speed chase through the San Fernando Valley late Thursday, stopping and going several times as the car’s rear bumper dangled off.

The pursuit began about 10:15 p.m. at Wilbur Avenue and Sherman Way in Reseda, where police suspected the person of driving under the influence, said LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman. When officers ran the license plate, she said, they discovered the Nissan Sentra was stolen.

Police attempted several PIT maneuvers — using their patrol car to clip the car’s rear fender and force the driver to lose control — but failed to stop the driver in the televised chase. The moves left the suspect’s rear bumper hanging off during much of the pursuit.

The driver also ran over several spike strips, “but we don’t know if they’ve been effective because the tires, they’re still going,” Eisenman said.

Multiple times, the driver stopped and officers started to get out of their patrol cars. But then, the driver took off — sometimes while waving out the window.

At one point, the suspect drove through an Arco gas station, where multiple people were filling their gas tanks. Photographers pulled in to the station with their cameras out.

About 11:30 p.m., someone in a white car driving in front of the suspect tried to stop the car by mimicking its movements. Lookie-loos gathered on the sidewalks with their cell phones out.

A final PIT maneuver at about 11:40 p.m. spun the car, allowing four patrol cars to surround the vehicle next to a sidewalk. Police exited their vehicles with their guns drawn as the driver climbed out of the Nissan and was arrested.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

UPDATES:

11:45 p.m.: This article was updated with the driver’s arrest.

This article was originally published at 11:25 p.m.