PCH in Malibu reopens after traffic stop leads to standoff lasting hours

A stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu reopened Wednesday morning after being shut down for hours when a man allegedly assaulted a deputy during a traffic stop and got into a standoff with officers.

Deputies finally managed to arrest the man by 8:30 a.m., about an hour after Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department special tactical teams with crisis negotiators responded to the scene and more than seven hours after the whole situation first started. Officers were seen standing just outside a patrol vehicle on the highway — all facing towards a white van parked on the side of the road and surrounded by debris — as the standoff went on for hours through the morning.

Just before 9:30 a.m., the sheriff's department said the freeway had reopened with the suspect in police custody.

Earlier, the PCH was closed between between Heathercliff Road and Busch Drive due to the law enforcement response, according to the Lost Hills Station of the sheriff's department. Both southbound and northbound lanes were shut down.

Despite the van appearing damaged, with debris scattered on the ground around it, there was no crash, according to sheriff's officials.

During the traffic stop, which started around 1 a.m., deputies learned the man has a no-bail warrant out for his arrest, sheriff's officials said. He allegedly refused to comply when they tried arresting him, according to authorities, and then allegedly assaulted one of the officers with a fire extinguisher.

Around 5:45 a.m., sheriff's officials said they were waiting for a tactical team to respond. The suspect was arrested a little over two hours later.

No other details have been released by authorities.