Gov. Newsom advocates loosening police pursuit policies in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Highway Patrol and some Oakland leaders on Friday strongly advocated for loosening on police pursuit policies. 

"You could be drunk. You could run a red light. You can come close to sideswiping a school bus during the morning hours, right in front of a police officer," Newsom said. "And the pursuit policy in Oakland says we cannot pursue that suspect." 

Barbara Leslie, president of Oakland's Chamber of Commerce, CHP Commissioner Ezery Beauchamp and Oakland City Councilman Kevin Jenkins, all echoed the same sentiment at a news conference.

"Overwhelmingly, there is support to change this policy in an urgent manner," Jenkins said. 

All those invited to the news conference said that Oakland's policies are too restrictive, citing suspects who apparently knew about the city's lax rules, and he urged the Oakland Police Commission to loosen up on their rules. 

Newsom called on the police commission to hold a special session to make changes to the policy and Jenkins said that he and the city administrator are oworkingn a new chase policy to bring to the commission for a second time.  

In September, the Oakland Police Commission said it did not want to change its policies, which allow for police chases only if there is reasonable suspicion that a person committed a violent forcible crime, or if there is probable cause to believe that the person has a gun. 

OPD created this policy a decade ago after the department's inspector general found that police chases often resulted in crashes, injuries, and even deaths of bystanders, officers, and people fleeing from police.

The chair of the Oakland Police Commissioner, Ricardo Garcia-Acosta, acknowledged that work is needed on the city's police pursuit policy and practices.

He said the commission implements "smart policy and best practices to deter reckless behavior in our city streets."

Newsom also touted the work of the CHP, which has been conducting increased enforcement in Oakland. The governor quadrupled the number of shifts officers worked in the region in July.

Those efforts led to more than 1,400 arrests and $13 million in recovered stolen goods, Newsom's office said.

Newsom also announced a number of new laws that will take effect in 2025 aimed at enforcing crime-fighting. 

Those laws will increase penalties for people involved in retail theft, car thefts and sideshows, while also increasing enforcement and prosecutions.