Law enforcement officers are no stranger to chasing down suspects in a police pursuit, but an incident in Los Angeles, California, on July 17 left Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies stunned.
Not only was the driver, 21-year-old Daiyaan Henderson, driving in and out of traffic at very dangerous speeds, but he was doing so with his 2-month-old baby in the car — all while livestreaming the pursuit on his phone.
The incident started because of an armed robbery in Beverly Hills. Local police later spotted the vehicle, and a chase started around 5:40 p.m.
The driver pulled over a short time later in South L.A., and three men jumped out of the car and ran off. Police set up a containment and caught two of the suspects.
However, the third suspect got into another vehicle, a Kia sedan, and quickly took off, starting up another chase.
Deputies weren’t aware until later that the man’s girlfriend and infant son were in the car.
“Today, our deputies from South Los Angeles Sheriff Station and Marina Del Rey Sheriff Station were led on a high-speed pursuit by an armed robbery suspect throughout Los Angeles,” the department said on Facebook. “Unbeknownst to the deputies in pursuit, the suspect was driving recklessly with his girlfriend and 2-month-old baby inside the vehicle. Upon learning of the dire situation, deputies ensured the utmost care and consideration while maintaining their officer safety in the highly tense situation.
Per KTLA, Henderson was going as fast as 80 miles per hour during the chase, narrowly missing a Metro bus and running through several red lights and stop signs. As the chase was being captured from above in helicopters, Henderson streamed his perspective on Instagram Live.
“Just let us out the car,” said the woman in the backseat, to which Henderson replied,
“They going to kill me.”
The distressed woman pleaded with her boyfriend to pull over. “You’re not thinking about your baby right now. You’re fixing to get your baby killed,” she said. “It’s over, bro, it’s over.”
The chase reached an end when the suspect drove down a dead-end road, leading to a standoff with police. At one point, he poked his head out of the car while holding his child to inform police there was a baby in the vehicle. The woman then took the child, and she emerged from the vehicle with their daughter. Henderson exited shortly after, hugged his girlfriend and child, and complied with police instructions.
The woman was not arrested, but the child received medical attention and food at the scene. She was released back to her mother.
“I was just thankful I was there,” Deputy Adriana Martinez said in a press conference. “My concern was the baby. She was crying, and I wanted to comfort her. My motherly instincts kicked in. I tried to soothe her and stop her from crying. We ended up taking care of her. It was great to be there. It made me feel like I was holding my daughter when she was small.”
Henderson is being held without bail, according to jail records.
