Newsom urges Oakland PD to ease restrictions on police chases

Governor Gavin Newsom is urging Oakland leaders to expand their current police pursuit policy.

In a letter, Governor Newsom pointed out that their limited policy is an outlier among California law enforcement agencies. The Oakland Police Department policy prevents officers from pursuing suspects at a high speed, except in incidents where the suspect is known to have committed a violent crime or if there's probable cause the person has a gun.

City councilmember Noel Gallo says that policy resulted in people getting away with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from the Walgreens on Foothill Boulevard.

"Sadly enough I was here to witness this robbery at Walgreens as we were cleaning the neighborhood at 7 in the morning," said Gallo. "They drove in here with a forklift, tore the door down."

Gallo immediately called police.

"Police showed up, 3, 4, 5 cars of them and then all the people ran out, got into their cars here and the police said 'we can't chase them.'"

Gallo says criminals know police can't pursue, so they take off at a high speed. This type of crime has already resulted in dozens of businesses in his district, which includes the Fruitvale Area, shutting down.

He supports the Governor's request for updating the policy, and so does Mayor Sheng Thao.

"We must be in line with our policies with other jurisdictions so that we can ensure that our community is safe," said Thao.

In a statement, the California Highway Patrol agreed with Newsom:
"Preventing police from pursuing dangerous suspects incentivizes suspects to flee without threat of consequences. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) strongly encourages a policy revision that would permit the Oakland Police Department to pursue suspects in more circumstances, so long as they are conducted with the safety of the suspect, innocent bystanders, and officers in mind."

City Councilmember Dan Kalb points out that there is already efforts in place to update the policy, which was put in place a decade ago by a former police chief.

"Is the balance that we have in our current policy for the last 10 years the right balance? And that's why exactly why we've asked the police commission and police chief to review that and come back with recommendations this year, this calender year, to potentially make changes," said Kalb.

Kalb says police can pursue a known suspect of a violent crime, but not for property crime. The current policy is in place to protect bystanders.

"Nobody wants innocent pedestrians or whoever else is out on the street to get hit by car and die or get seriously injured," said Kalb. "That has happened throughout the country numerous times."

Councilmember Gallo insists that something needs to be done to continue to make the streets safer, and he's glad the governor is bringing attention to it.

"We need to follow the rules on the streets that it's not alright to run red lights, that it's not alright to go 90 miles per hour and break into the stores and get away with it," said Gallo. "You can't do that."