Gavin Newsom on Friday sent a letter to Oakland officials urging them to allow police to engage in more vehicle pursuits, contending that the limitations placed on officers contribute to public safety challenges in the city. In a policy Newsom described as an “outlier,” Oakland only allows police chases when a suspect is armed with a gun or involved in a forcible violent crime. The governor’s letter, addressed to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, the Oakland City Council and the Oakland Police Commission, laid out his support for a recent City Council decision to review the policy. In the letter, the governor wrote that CHP “observed suspects attempting to escape arrest by using the same routes, concluding that they knew where OPD would discontinue a pursuit” because of the pursuit policy. In comparison, CHP’s pursuit of suspects, with the help of air support, caught suspects in each of the six chases that state officers initiated.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 27, 2024 14:40 UTC