An LAPD officer was recovering Sunday from “bumps and bruises” after he was disarmed and fired upon inside the department’s Harbor Division station in San Pedro the previous night, police said.
The incident happened at the Los Angeles Police Department station located at 2175 John S. Gibson Blvd. around 10 p.m. Saturday.
A man walked into the front lobby and came in contact with an officer working at the front desk, according to LAPD’s preliminary investigation. At some point, the man allegedly assaulted the officer.
“The officer’s gun was removed and he was fired upon, but not struck,” LAPD said in a statement on Twitter on Sunday morning.
Chief Michel Moore later said he suffered wounds “consistent with” being pistol-whipped.
A watch commander heard the commotion and shot at the assailant, who was not struck, according to police.
The attacker then got into a white pickup truck and fled, leading officers on a pursuit, LAPD said. They managed to take him into custody at Pacific Avenue and 17th Street, a little more than 2 miles away from the station, according police.
The assailant sustained minor abrasions and received medical treatment before being booked, LAPD said. Meanwhile, the officer was taken to the hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Just before 1 a.m., Moore tweeted: “Spoke with officer at hospital. He is resting and will be ok. Bumps and bruises. He was not shot.”
LAPD did not identify the officer attacked but described him as a police veteran of more than 30 years.
The incident happened as tensions remain high over a series of deadly police shootings of civilians in the U.S. This week, a grand jury declined to charge Louisville officers over the killing of Breonna Taylor during a botched police raid in Kentucky, further exacerbating the unrest felt across the nation, including in Southern California.
Local law enforcement’s response during demonstrations against police violence has drawn scrutiny. Authorities have also reported two recent attacks on officers: one against two L.A. County sheriff’s deputies in Compton earlier this month and another against an off-duty LAPD officer earlier Saturday.
In that incident, LAPD said a man shot at an off-duty officer in his personal vehicle around 5:45 a.m. while both were driving on Vanowen Street near Lindley Avenue in Reseda.
The gunfire did not injure the officer, but his vehicle was struck, according to police. LAPD said the motive behind the shooting was unclear.
