Man in custody after 8-hour ordeal on Lake Shore Drive
A standoff on Chicago's iconic Lake Shore Drive that lasted more than eight hours Sunday ended with police taking a Georgia man into custody, police said.
They said the man is wanted in connection with a murder earlier this month in Hampton, Ga., which is roughly 30 miles from Atlanta.
Police said a chase involving the man began Sunday in the Chicago suburb of Harvey. It was the result of an investigation involving Harvey police and police in Henry County, Ga., said Harvey Police Department spokeswoman Sandra Alvarado in a news release.
She said authorities in Georgia requested help on Sunday afternoon and Harvey police were provided a description of the vehicle, registration, GPS location and a valid arrest warrant.
Calls that The Associated Press made to authorities in Henry County, Ga., went unanswered Sunday.
The vehicle in question was located shortly after and “fled from officers,” according to Alvarado, crossing several interstates and ending with a crash on the heavily traveled Lake Shore Drive, which is along Lake Michigan. The standoff followed, with police surrounding a four-door car with tinted windows that crashed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Officers around the vehicle were heavily armed and spoke to the man who was inside the car through a loudspeaker, the newspaper reported. They asked him to show his hands or put them up. They also asked him to pick up a phone that was apparently inside the car, so he could talk to them.
Later, according to the newspaper, officers asked the man to throw a knife out of the car. It's not clear if he actually had a knife or followed their instructions.
The incident caused major traffic problems on Lake Shore Drive, with officers having to close sections of the road for hours. Motorists were diverted well away from the scene. Joggers, walkers and cyclists along the lakefront also were turned away.
The standoff took place on the city's North Side not far from lakeside pedestrian paths and a theater.