Los Angeles police pursued a driver on surface streets through cities southeast of downtown L.A. on Tuesday afternoon, ending the chase in a standoff that lasted about an hour and 15 minutes outside a home in the Downey area.\r
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The driver was taken into custody without incident about 5 p.m.\r
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The pursuit began when officers in the Skid Row area witnessed what they believed was a drug deal, according to Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Don Graham of Central Division. When officers tried to pull the black Range Rover over, the driver refused to stop.\r
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The pursuit took place on surface streets through Vernon, Commerce and Downey, until the SUV stopped about 3:45 p.m. An earlier PIT maneuver had failed to halt the driver.\r
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The vehicle parked in driveway in a cul-de-sac on Pico Vista Road just south of Telegraph Road in Downey, and the driver refused to exit the vehicle.\r
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About 5 p.m., he opened a passenger-side door and seemed to be talking to armed officers. He finally exited the vehicle, smoking, and was taken into custody without incident.\r
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A woman who got out of the Range Rover early in the pursuit was under arrest, Graham said.\r
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Drugs were found inside the vehicle, according to the captain, who did not specify the type of narcotics. The driver was believed to be impaired when he was arrested and may have eaten drugs during the pursuit or the standoff, Graham said.\r
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“He does seem like he is impaired … either mental illness or some altered state,” Graham said.\r
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The unidentified driver was taken for a medical evaluation, Graham said.\r
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Multiple police vehicles followed the SUV, which did not appear to be traveling at high speed, aerial video showed. Nine LAPD vehicles stopped in the cul-de-sac behind the Land Rover.\r
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An LAPD Media Relations Section officer initially said the pursuit began in the Pico-Union neighborhood near Olympic Boulevard and Hoover Street.\r
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Freeway off-ramps from the 605 Freeway to Telegraph Road were closed during the standoff, and the California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert at at about 4:20 p.m. The SigAlert was canceled about 5:15 p.m., according to a CHP tweet.