LAPD shoot man who escaped from police custody during medical visit at USC hospital
Freddy Bailon was shot by police after escaping officers during an medical examition at USC and crashing a stolen SUV.
Los Angeles police Wednesday shot and wounded a man who had escaped from custody during an examination at USC’s sprawling medical campus in Boyle Heights, authorities said.
The shooting came after officers chased the man, who stole an SUV that crashed into a tree outside USC’s School of Pharmacy, authorities said.
The man, identified as Freddy Bailon, 36, was hospitalized and undergoing medical treatment after the shooting, according to LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar.
Aguilar said the shooting was “a very complicated scene,” part of a broader investigation that unfolded Tuesday evening when the man was initially taken into police custody.
Officers were following up on a report about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday that led to an apartment in the 5200 block of Ithaca Avenue, Aguilar said. As they approached the apartment, officers saw a man in an apartment doorway who was holding a knife to the throat of a teenage girl.
The girl managed to escape from his grip, and officers began negotiating with the man, who ultimately surrendered. He was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, Aguilar said.
On Wednesday at about 3:30 p.m., uniformed officers and a detective escorted the man from jail to the medical center for an examination. At some point during the medical visit, he broke free from police and ran from the building, Aguilar said.
As officers chased the man, he “commandeered” a black SUV from a woman. At some point, one officer shot the man, Aguilar said.
The brief pursuit ended when the SUV smashed into a tree outside the building that houses USC’s School of Pharmacy.
The woman whose SUV was stolen was not injured, and none of the officers involved in the incident were hurt.
The man had been handcuffed at one point during the medical visit, Aguilar said, but it’s unclear if he was handcuffed when he escaped.
The two uniformed officers were equipped with body cameras. The video has been collected but not yet viewed, Aguilar said.
Officers cordoned off the area around where the SUV had crashed but had not yet searched the vehicle, Aguilar said. Investigators were canvassing the area to determine whether surveillance cameras recorded the incident.
Twitter: @KateMather
Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
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