A police officer helping to clear the scene of a three-hour standoff in Sherman Oaks suffered a serious head injury Wednesday afternoon when the brakes of the bicycles he and his partner were riding crashed.
A man reportedly threatened his girlfriend with a knife in a home on Scadlock Lane near Mulholland Drive a little after noon. He was finally taken into custody around 3:30 p.m.
As officers were leaving the scene, two bicycle cops were riding down a steep hill near Deerhorn Drive and Woodcliff Road when both of their brakes failed. One bike hit the other and an officer fell.
He was wearing a helmet, but was going to fast that he suffered a serious injury. He was alert and conscious when he was transported to the hospital, where doctors are tending to him.
"This was an unfortunate accident. They will look at the brakes malfunctioning, since these bikes should have been able to come down hills," said LAPD spokesman Andy Neiman.