Woman who shot video showing 2 LAPD officers attacked by suspect speaks to FOX 11
LOS ANGELES - The woman who witnessed a man attacking two Los Angeles police officers in Westchester on Wednesday spoke to FOX 11 about how the incident started.
The incident happened in the 8300 block of Fordham Road on Wednesday evening. LAPD was called to the area on reports of a suspect threatening neighbors and attempting to vandalize property. The woman who recorded the incident said the suspect was yelling obscenities at her when she got home.
"He was not only harassing me, but he was harassing anybody who was around him on the street. There were children on bikes. There were people jogging and walking and he was harassing and attempting to assault many people. My neighbor called me at that point and told me that he had just driven away because the man had started attempting to shatter my neighbor's truck windows while he was in his truck," said the witness, who did not want her identity revealed.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Good Samaritan comes to the rescue of 2 LAPD officers in brutal attack
Several neighbors called 911 and when police arrived, there was an instant altercation. The witness recorded the video from inside her house.
"This man started attempting to aggressively fight the officers. He then used this weapon, which was a chain with a padlock, at the end of it to viciously beat and pummel the officers and he ended up cracking one of them over the head and he started bleeding and there were many witnesses. All of my neighbors were outside watching the incident occur," she said.
A man who was painting her house at the time decided to step in as a Good Samaritan, helping the officers with the suspect.
"My painter, who was the Good Samaritan, ran outside because the police were waiting on their backup and the backup hadn't arrived yet so my painter offered to help the officers and they agreed to let him come in and help," said the woman.
The officers tried to use a Taser on the suspect, but it did not work. They eventually got him to the ground and took him into custody.
"I was just hoping that it wouldn't escalate and that the officers, as they were able to do, would end up being able to subdue the assailant and that nobody would be injured because it did turn violent quickly. It was a scary situation but I think the officers, as you'll see in the video, were as calm as can be expected and I think they reacted very bravely and I'm so happy that I captured it on video," she said.
The suspect is a neighbor who lives in the area, according to the witness.
"He is known to have aggressive loud phone calls in the middle of the night that a lot of neighbors hear and I know that there has been some disruption in the neighborhood prior to this incident caused by him before," she said.
Some of the neighbors are in the process of filing a restraining order against the suspect.
The officers were taken to the hospital after suffering injuries, but are expected to be OK.
Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.