A man in a tow truck had an unpleasant confrontation with a member of the LAPD around 4:45pm on April 24th. The confrontation started in the Studio City neighborhood. The tow truck took off from the scene and proceeded to drive through Studio City, Los Feliz and Hollywood eventually ending in Glendale. The tow truck was pursued by the LAPD at a low speed. The driver evaded the police and their tactics to end the pursuit in many ways. This "chase" happened to take place during rush hour while all of the local news stations were broadcasting. Police and news helicopters were also in pursuit. The driver proceeded to drive from neighborhood to neighborhood following all traffic rules even using directional signals. He drove through the center of downtown Hollywood passing the tourists and pedestrians on Hollywood Blvd. He headed out toward the valley but saw that there were spike strips place in the road so he made a legal turn and headed back into Hollywood. He then headed east on Sunset Blvd returning to Los Feliz. He was still being followed. He drove politely and safely along Los Feliz Blvd. into Atwater Village and finally into Glendale. When in Glendale the driver eventually surrendered to the Glendale Police. He pulled over, got out of the tow truck and laid down on a sidewalk.
The driver got more than his 15 minutes of fame. His adventure was broadcast live for an hour and a half. He in that time developed a fan base. People on sidewalks waved as he passed and watched from balconies. He may well have committed a crime but behaved as a gentleman the whole time. He waited in traffic always stopping the correct distance from the vehicle ahead of him. He was the model criminal. The driver has been identified as Ambartsum Sarkisyan, 31.
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