DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A man who police say crashed into the steps of Los Angeles City Hall in downtown Friday afternoon was taken into custody after a lengthy barricade situation.
The driver was placed in handcuffs without incident around 5:50 p.m. after he stepped out of a sedan and walked with his hands up toward officers on Spring Street.
City Hall was evacuated as a precaution during the incident and several streets in the area were temporarily shut down.
Los Angeles police said the crash into the steps was reported around 4:07 p.m.
During the barricade situation, a cardboard sign displayed on the car’s windshield appeared to say, “I NEED UR HELP D TRUMP US VET.”
“The person was refusing to come out. Due to that and some unusual writing inside the vehicle, we didn’t know what we had,” LAPD Capt. Amira Eppolito said.
LAPD negotiated with the driver to surrender as he remained in the car, and he eventually gave himself up after nearly two hours.
Bomb-sniffing dogs and a robot were brought in as police spent hours looking through the car to check for weapons or explosives. Eppolito said an oxygen tank was in the car, but members of the bomb squad found nothing else of concern.
A drone was also deployed to give police a clear view of the car.
It’s unclear if the man will face charges.
“We didn’t know if it was intentional,” Eppolito said. “We don’t know what the motivations are.”
Mayor Karen Bass in a statement thanked first responders at the scene. Bass was not at City Hall when the incident happened.
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