Suspect in custody after standoff with Redondo Beach police on Artesia Boulevard
Photo by JP Cordero.
A suspect is in custody after a three hour standoff on the 2500 block of Artesia Boulevard in Redondo Beach on Wednesday afternoon, Redondo Beach Police said.
At approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, the Redondo Beach Police Department received a call about a domestic dispute at the 2500 block of Rockefeller Lane in Redondo Beach. A woman called to report that a former boyfriend against whom she had taken out a restraining order had entered her house and beaten her. When police arrived at the location, the officers saw the man fleeing on foot.
“The suspect fled to the 2500 block of Artesia,” said Lieutenant Joe Hoffman of the RBPD. “The officers pursued him and saw him run into a business on the first floor of a commercial building.”
Photo by JP Cordero.
Officers called for the suspect to come out of the building. He refused. Police then cordoned off the entire area, including the Artesia exit on the 405 Freeway, and were able to safely evacuate the commercial building.
“We had to close the roads in the area for about three hours,” said Hoffman. “We learned that he was not only in violation of a restraining order but that he was also out on parole for an open and pending charge of assault with a deadly weapon. We wanted to make sure no one in the community was in danger.”
Officers made further attempts to goad the man out of the building with no success. They finally entered the building with a canine unit shortly after 4 p.m. and found the suspect in a laundry area of the first floor, hiding under linens, according to police reports.
“The suspect resisted the canine’s attempts to subdue him,” said Hoffman. “As a result, he was bitten and required medical attention.”
The suspect, James Coward, 46, of Los Angeles, was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital, where he will be treated for the bite wound before receiving his formal charges at the police station. An unidentified officer was also bitten by the canine during the confrontation and is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.