The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A man who was videotaped running at police following a car chase was fatally shot when an officer apparently mistook an item he was holding for a gun, authorities said.
Joseph Scott Spidell, 45, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Officers later discovered he had been holding a socket used to remove spark plugs, police Lt. Paul Vernon said Wednesday.
Police tried to stop a truck that was moving erratically Tuesday in Van Nuys, but the driver fled and led police on a short chase, Vernon said.
Officers “saw him lighting his crack [cocaine] pipe and smoking” during the pursuit, Vernon said.
The 15-minute chase ended when spike strips blew out the truck’s tires. Television news videotape showed the man jumping out of the truck and advancing at officers.
Several times, the man appeared to take something from his waistband and adopt a “shooting stance,” Vernon said.
A 10-year veteran shot the man when he was about a car’s length away, Vernon said. The officer will be placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation, Vernon said.