Newsom reignites controversy over Oakland's police pursuit policy

OAKLAND, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom's declaration that Oakland needs to loosen its police pursuit policy has prompted discussion and debate over this controversial topic.

So much so, that the Oakland Police Commission is discussing the topic on Friday and is also hosting a virtual and in-person public forum on Jan. 15 at the East Bay Church of Religious Science.

Newsom wants to relax rules 

Just after Christmas, Newsom, standing alongside California Highway Patrol Commissioner Ezery Beauchamp and Kevin Jenkins, who was appointed interim mayor of Oakland, all championed the idea of relaxing the rules surrounding police going after suspects in their patrol cars. 

"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."

Newsom then chastised the Oakland Police Commission for not changing the police pursuit policies in October 2024, and he challenged them to look at the issue again.

What we know:

In Oakland, police are only allowed to pursue a suspect if there is reasonable suspicion that a person committed a violent forcible crime, or if there is probable cause to believe that a person has a gun. Oakland police have mostly chased suspects on suspicion of carjacking, firing off a weapon, attempted robbery with a gun and murder, city statistics show. 

These rules are strict in order to avoid injury and death – especially that of an innocent bystander. 

Oakland's own statistics show that between 2018 and 2023, police have conducted 600 pursuits, 7% of which have resulted in injury, 46% of which resulted in property damage and 1% of which resulted in death.

One of those deaths involved Lolomanaia "Lolo" Soakai, a 28-year-old man killed in a freak accident in 2022 while he was getting a meal with his mother at a taco truck on International Boulevard. 

Two police officers engaged in a non-authorized "ghost" chase of a 19-year-old who they said was at a sideshow. That suspect crashed into a row of cars and parked motorcycles, one of which flew into the air and toppled on Soakai, killing him. 

What we don't know:

The chair of the police commission, Ricardo Garcia-Acosta, wouldn't state publicly if he was willing to change the pursuit policy, though he thanked Newsom in a statement last month for his "support, resources and continued leadership and commitment to public safety" in Oakland. 

He plans to provide an overview of the current policy on Friday, along with the commission's initial recommendations submitted to the city council last fall. 

The agenda item also states that Garcia-Acosta will announce plans for community outreach and the expected timeline for the commission to review proposed revisions from "key stakeholders." 

Little formal research exists

By the numbers:

But the police commission's website now has a spot dedicated to police pursuits, which includes some studies and comparisons to other cities in the United States. 

Little formal research exists on police pursuits, though a San Francisco Chronicle investigation, "Fast and Fatal," recently revealed that at least 3,336 people died in pursuits in the U.S. over the six years ending in 2022. 

Bystanders and passengers are killed with "shocking frequency," the Chronicle reported, and the vast majority of chases involve drivers suspected not of violent crimes, but low-level violations.

The research that does exist, according to a presentation posted on the Oakland Police Commission site, is old and poorly documented, but seems to imply that loosening restrictions on pursuits does not increase the percentage of pursuits ending in crashes, but does decrease the use of force following the pursuit. 

There is no research, the commission states, as to the benefits of the cost of restricting pursuit policies. 

Comparing pursuit policies

Big picture view:

So the police commission's Office of Inspector General decided to compare Oakland policies to others across the country and found that OPD has the second-most restrictive police pursuit policy. Atlanta police have the strictest rules, according to this comparison. 

Not only does Oakland's police pursuit policy only allow a chase for violent forcible crimes or the use of a gun, officers must also seek verbal approval from a supervisor, limit their speed to 50 mph, and disengage from the pursuit when a helicopter unit obtains a visual of the suspect. The policy still allows for maneuvers like spike strips and boxing in cars with supervisor approval and the appropriate training. 

San Jose police have no maximum speed on chases and allow officers to pursue when "the violator is believed to be a violent felon who poses a significant, ongoing threat to public safety." 

After Measure E passed in 2024, San Francisco changed its policies where police can now chase suspects for all felonies and violent misdemeanors. There is no maximum speed and pursuits do not need to be terminated once the helicopter can see the suspect. 

In Los Angeles County, law enforcement can chase people for serious felonies and misdemeanors involving a gun, or when the driver is impaired, driving recklessly. No supervisory approval is needed to begin a pursuit and police can go 20 mph over the speed limit unless a violent felony is suspected. 

In Fremont, police can chase burglary suspects. In Rochester, NY, police can be involved in drug-related pursuits. 

What policies should change? 

The other side:

Millie Cleveland, a steering committee member for the Coalition for Police Accountability, told KTVU that OPD's police pursuit policy was written based on national best practices, and she's concerned that Newsom and others are pointing fingers at the Oakland Police Commission, when they are really trying to attack police oversight in general.

Cleveland said that she also doesn't like the semantics of how OPD's chase policies are described as "strict," just because police must adhere to "protections that other cities don't have." 

She stressed that these policies were developed by the police – not the commission – and that if officers want to speed past 50 mph, they can do so with a supervisor's approval. 

And beyond that, she said, the current police chief can write a new special order to increase the speed; he doesn't need the blessing of the police commission. 

Cleveland said she is open to the idea of possibly altering the pursuit policy, but to what? 

There are 19 risk factors that police must adhere to before considering a pursuit, including chasing someone near a school, a nursing home and a high-volume pedestrian area.

Cleveland said at no time have the police asked the commission to change any of these factors.  

"I'm not against revisiting the policy," Cleveland said. "But which of the safety protections do you want to knock off?" 

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED: The Oakland Police Commission is discussing updating the police pursuit policy on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall or online. Oakland Police Commission's Pursuit Policy Community Engagement Ad Hoc Committee is hosting a virtual and in-person meeting on Jan. 15 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the East Bay Church of Religious Science at 4130 Telegraph Ave. The police commission's documents on police pursuit policies can be found here.