Stolen car suspect tries to hide on LA rooftops

LOS ANGELES — The driver of a stolen car abandoned the vehicle early Thursday during a short police chase and took refuge on rooftops in Westwood, taunting officers during a continuing standoff that has lasted for hours, police said.

The stolen Toyota Camry was abandoned in a residential area and the suspect climbed onto the roof of a house about a block east of the University of California, Los Angeles.

The standoff was broadcast live throughout the morning from a KTTV-TV news helicopter that showed the man hopping from rooftop to rooftop of several homes as police flooded the neighborhood.

No homes were evacuated.

The continuing standoff has lasted for more than two hours.

"We are still trying to get him to comply with our requests," police spokesman Richard French.

The suspect attempted to climb down a tree several times but returned to second-floor rooftops when he spotted officers nearby.

The suspect was wearing dark, baggy clothing. It's unclear if he's armed.

Officers used ladders to get onto the roof and got within 20 feet of the suspect, urging him to surrender.

But he jumped to the rooftop of another home. When officers placed a ladder in front of the suspect at one point, he ran away and leaned against a fireplace to smoke what appeared to be a cigarette.

Moments later, the agitated man raised his arms and appeared to be taunting officers as he paced back and forth on rooftops, jumping from house to house.