A wanted man who swam out into the ocean while fleeing police during wild chase Thursday morning was collared after more than an hour in the water.
The action began around 7:20 a.m., when officers attempted to arrest the suspect wanted on a felony warrant near the intersection of the Pacific Coast Highway and Marina Drive in the Pacific Palisades, the LAPD said.
Officers instructed the fugitive to surrender, but instead he fled on foot and ran toward Will Rogers State Beach, a popular stretch of coast for beachgoing families and surfers.
The suspect managed to outpace the cops before jumping into the ocean fully clothed and swimming way out to sea.
Video captured suspect treading water hundreds of yards offshore as two boats and a pair of first responders on paddleboards came to meet him.
One of the emergency responders appeared to be speaking with the suspect.
The man eventually exhausted himself, with a third rescuer swimming up to him as he approached one of the paddleboards to be transported to a waiting sheriff’s boat.
He was finally taken into custody around 9:30 a.m., roughly two hours after the ordeal began.
A police spokesman said the man was taken into custody without further struggle and remains in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. There were no injuries reported, the spokesman said.
An investigation is ongoing.
