take him hostage. they tossed me my keys, told me to stay there for about 10 minutes, so that s what i did. got in the cadillac and took off. lapd, they were absolutely energized and engaged. i mean, they were mobilized. they were determined and they were closing in and they were doing a good job of getting information. people began to come up to us and say, hey, i saw this, i saw that. i saw this black person and this white person. two white girls went on to the blue van and left in it and came back. one was in the blue one and one was in a red and white one. that s all i seen. as the day progressed, we literally felt a tightening noose, like, you know, the target got smaller and smaller and smaller and more defined, and they finally had to narrowed down to a few houses. we looked at each other and say, i wouldn t want the lapd after me. he s hyperventilating after opening his verizon bill. who s that?
dispatcher started dispatching myself and other units to be on the lookout for a blue van with a ladder on it. within seconds of the call, deaton sees the van drive by. he flips on his blue and red flashers which automatically engages his dash cam. i got the vehicle up here. the blue van pulls over. officer deaton approaches the vehicle and identifies the driver as eric german, the 45-year-old is an intimidating figure. first when i make contact with him, i could tell he was much larger than i was. i could tell that he was in fairly good shape. almost from the start, deaton senses that german is going to be trouble. he was talking on the cell phone. i asked him to hang up the cell phone. then he grabbed his cell phone, hung up and threw it on the dashboard. at that time, that kind of made me aware that for some odd reason this guy is having a very bad day. it s about to get worse. as the officer questions german
back at the blue van, officer deaton tries to take control of the tense situation. at the time, i had him step out of the vehicle because i could tell that he was very upset. he wasn t complying with my orders. i didn t know what was inside that vehicle. and if i could get him to step out and get him into handcuffs, i kind of would feel i would have one step up on him. once out of the vehicle, german becomes combative. officer deaton pulls out his taser. i aimed it at him and told him to step back, calm down. deaton attempts to cuff the suspect. i said, you re not under arrest. i m going to place you in handcuffs for your safety and mine. i then grabbed his hands. as i went to put the left handcuff on, he decided to pull away. with one handcuff fastened, german struggles to get away. the officer aims his taser and lets the barbs fly. it has no impact. the one barb hitting him in his right shoulder. the other barb hit him in his belt. the way a taser works, it works
finishing up on a call when dispatch alerts him to a nearby hit and run accident involving two cars colliding. dispatcher started dispatching myself and other units to be on the lookout for a blue van with a ladder on it. within seconds of the call, deaton sees the van drive by. he flips on his blue and red flashers which automatically engages his dash cam. i got the vehicle up here. the blue van pulls over. officer deaton approaches the vehicle and identifies the driver as eric german, the 45-year-old is an intimidating figure. first when i make contact with him, i could tell he was much larger than i was. i could tell that he was in fairly good shape. almost from the start, deaton senses that german is going to be trouble. he was talking on the cell phone. i asked him to hang up the cell phone. then he grabbed his cell phone, hung up and threw it on the dashboard. at that time, that kind of made me aware that for some odd reason this guy is having a very bad day.
need to get there now. he needs someone there. tipton hits his lights and sirens and punches it to the scene. back at the blue van, officer deaton tries to take control of the tense situation. at the time, i had him step out of the vehicle because i could tell that he was very upset. he wasn t complying with my orders. i didn t know what was inside that vehicle. and if i could get him to step out and get him into handcuffs, i kind of would feel i would have one step up on him. once out of the vehicle, german becomes combative. officer deaton pulls out his taser. i aimed it at him and told him to step back, calm down. deaton attempts to cuff the suspect. i said, you re not under arrest. i m going to place you in handcuffs for your safety and mine. i then grabbed his hands. as i went to put the left handcuff on, he decided to pull away. with one handcuff fastened, german struggles to get away. the officer aims his taser and lets the barbs fly. it has no impact. the one barb