Chase ends at Huntington Center

Paul Clinton

A 44-year-old Buena Park man led police on a low-speed pursuit that

ended in a 30-minute standoff at Huntington Center.

The man, who police said appeared to be suicidal, sat in his black

Mustang near the end of the Beach Boulevard offramp of the San Diego

Freeway until a medical evaluation team convinced him to surrender.

The team worked on behalf of the Long Beach Police Department, who

took the man into custody almost two hours after confronting him in that

city.

Long Beach police did not release the man’s name because he was under

psychiatric treatment.

The episode began about 9:30 a.m. Friday, when Long Beach police

received a call about a man holding a “shiny object” up to his neck at

the Los Altos Shopping Center in the eastern part of Long Beach, said

Nancy Tabing, Long Beach police spokeswoman.

Police first confronted the man at the Los Altos Shopping Center.

“He was threatening to kill himself and others,” Tabing said. “He was

making threats to the officers.”

Brandishing a razor knife, which is similar to an X-Acto knife, the

man began slashing his arms. He then stepped into his car and drove south

on Bellflower Boulevard.

Followed by police as he drove slower than 20 mph, the man drove onto

the onramp of the San Diego Freeway at 7th Street and headed south.

California Highway Patrol deputies joined the chase at that point,

following the man until he exited at Beach Boulevard.

Stopping his car off to the side of the offramp, the man sat alone as

police surrounded him.

A police psychiatrist and officer persuaded the man to surrender

shortly after 11 a.m. He was taken into custody and taken to Huntington

Beach Hospital for treatment.

No one was injured in the chase.

The man could face charges of evading arrest or threatening officers,

Tabing said.