A man who crashed into the steps of Los Angeles City Hall on Friday and then refused to exit his car, initiated a nearly two-hour-long standoff with responding police officers.

The man, unnamed by the Los Angeles Police Department, crashed into the steps sometime before 4:10 p.m. Friday, when police officers arrived following a report of a car parked on the sidewalk outside City Hall, the department said on X.

The police asked the driver to exit the car and he refused, leading them to call for a SWAT team, the police said on X. 

The driver had an oxygen tank in the passenger seat and two signs on his dashboard reading “Don’t Want To Hurt No Body” and one in all caps reading “I need ur help D. Trump U.S. Vet.,” police said, according to Los Angeles TV station KTLA-TV.

The driver communicated with a police crisis intervention team and ultimately got out of the car at around 5:50 p.m. before being taken into custody, according to Los Angeles TV station KABC-TV.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not indicate whether the crash was intentional and did not mention any injuries to bystanders. 

“We didn’t know if it was intentional. We don’t know what the motivations are,” Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Amira Eppolito said, according to KABC-TV.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.