02/01/12 Pacoima, CA – LAPD SWAT Standoff – Perimeter Marked Patrol Car Stolen By 20 Year Old Woman – Suspect Escaped

February 1, 2012

ktla.com

Police are searching for a brazen 20-year-old woman they say stole a police car Tuesday night from a perimeter detail near a stand-off in Pacoima.

The woman jumped into the car about 7:15 p.m. near the police perimeter near the intersection of Vena Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard, where officers were staged during a standoff.

The alleged theft of the police car was not related to the standoff, police said.

The car was empty because the officer had gotten out of it while participating in the perimeter, officials said.

Police tracked the car and found it about 7:30 p.m. near the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Laurel Street.

When officers reached the car, the woman was gone. Officers are now looking for her.

She is described as a Latina woman about 5 feet 5 inches tall. She had her hair in a ponytail and wore a dark hooded sweatshirt.

Police have video images of the woman and investigators believe they know who she is, LAPD officials said.

The standoff began about 10 a.m. Tuesday when officer responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon.

A 37-year-old man barricaded himself inside a home and an LAPD SWAT team was called to the scene, officials said.

He kept police at bay for several hours before being flushed out of a nearby home with tear gas.