In the wake of two police chases in the Mission District that left one person dead, six more injured, and a bus stop and historic storefront destroyed, San Francisco’s police commissioners confirmed that they will revisit the department’s policy on car pursuits.
“We always want to make sure that our policy is consistent with best practices,” said Police Commissioner Kevin Benedicto, who referred to police car pursuits as a “dangerous” practice. “I’ll ask for it to be calendared at a future commission meeting.”
Commission Vice President Max Carter-Oberstone agreed that the commission should “take a hard look” at the SFPD’s vehicle-pursuit policy in light of the recent crashes.
“Given these last two tragic incidents, we should look at whether it’s time to update our policy,” he said.
At present, the San Francisco Police Department’s “pursuit driving” policy emphasizes the need to “safely apprehend a fleeing violator without unnecessarily endangering the public and/or officers.”
The policy has not been revised since May 2013.
A chase on May 23 of this year left 58-year-old Victor Nguyen dead after police officers and sheriffs’ deputies pursued a carjacking suspect who had allegedly injured a city worker and stolen an SFMTA pickup truck. The suspect crashed the truck while being chased, destroying a bus stop at 16th Street and Potrero Avenue, killing Nguyen and injuring himself and three others.
Carlo Watson was arrested after the crash for various charges including carjacking and murder. He had previously been arrested for carjacking in San Francisco,
About a week after the 16th and Potrero crash, on June 2, Assistant Chief of Police David Lazar sent a department-wide email temporarily banning the preemptive use of spike strips, a tool used to puncture and flatten tires and possibly prevent a high-speed car chase. It’s unclear whether the email was connected to the crash.
“The preemptive use of spike strips is an excellent tool for officers to use on vehicles belonging to suspects engaged in a variety of crimes,” the email read. “Spike strips deployed in this manner can deescalate an incident and prevent a vehicle pursuit.”
The ban, Lazar wrote, stemmed from a conflict with the department’s use-of-force policy, but would be temporary.
Then, on June 21, came another chase in which a police cruiser ran through a busy Valencia Street intersection, knocking a motorcyclist off his bike and narrowly missing a child while plunging through the front of the former Lucca’s Ravioli on Valencia and 22nd.
According to the California Highway Patrol’s most recent annual report, law enforcement agencies around the state led 12,513 police pursuits in 2021. Some 20 percent of them resulted in a crash, and more than 7 percent resulted in an injury or fatality. The total number of pursuits was up by 6.9 percent from 2020.
Of the 52 deaths in statewide police pursuits in 2021, 14 were people uninvolved in the crime. Of the 1,467 injuries, 450 were uninvolved parties, according to the report.
Department of Police Accountability policy director Janelle Caywood called the practice of car chases dangerous, and said her team is separately reviewing the SFPD’s general order on vehicle pursuits to determine if it needs updating.
“Vehicle pursuits are extremely dangerous for both police officers and bystanders,” Caywood wrote in an email. “Because the pursuing officer has a lot going on (dealing with the stress of a high-speed chase, monitoring the radio, driving, etc.), they can get tunnel vision.”
Police supervisors are, according to department policy, required to continually monitor car chases as they happen. Such pursuits are permitted when a person is suspected of a violent felony or poses a risk to public safety.
But some believe this standard is too permissive.
“When you leave any discretion to the police officer, that’s a recipe for disaster,” said former SFPD sergeant Carl Tennenbaum. “I’m personally not a believer in police pursuits at all.”
The casualties and damage that often occur during a chase and the inherent liability for the city, he continued, are not worth it — even though Tennenbaum recalled that “there’s nothing more exciting than getting into a car chase; it’s almost like a video game come to life.”
The car that officers pursued at 22nd and Valencia last week was “possibly involved in a violent crime,” according to an SFPD spokesperson, though police did not specify what crime that may have been. The driver of the car fled, running a red light, and a police car followed suit through the busy intersection, striking a motorcyclist and throwing back a young child before crashing into the former Lucca’s storefront.
Police did not specify whether Watson, the carjacking suspect in the 16th and Potrero incident, had committed any violent crime when they began to pursue him.
SFPD spokesperson Evan Sernoffsky said the two incidents are still under investigation, and declined to comment on the specifics of what had happened. But, he said, there was no indication that the existing policy needed changing.
“We have one of the most restrictive chase policies in California or the country,” Sernoffsky said.
It is unclear how often SFPD authorizes car chases or how many result in injuries or property damage; the police department declined to provide this information.
Both the SFPD policy and the state’s vehicle pursuit guidelines from 2022 suggest a balance test with more than a dozen factors to be considered:
- The apparent need for immediate capture balanced against the risks to peace officers, innocent motorists, and others to protect the public
- Vehicular or pedestrian traffic safety and volume
- Whether a suspect has been identified or may be safely apprehended at a later time
Deputy Public Defender Diamond Ward, who is representing the carjacking suspect Watson, said her client was experiencing a mental health emergency. Watson had sought emergency psychiatric care less than 48 hours before his arrest, Ward noted, but was released after less than 24 hours. Soon after, he came across the city vehicle with keys in the ignition and the engine running.
Police and sheriff’s deputies may have “aggravated the situation,” Ward said, by commencing a high-speed chase through the “dense residential and commercial neighborhood, and contributed to the conditions that led to this tragic collision along a busy transit corridor.”
The city often pays out settlements to civilians hit by SFPD squad cars, but it is not specified in records how many of those are the result of high-speed chases.
Police officers who fail to follow existing policy may face discipline. But it is unclear how often this type of discipline is meted out for unsafe or improper car pursuits, despite the damages and high risks involved.
The city’s civilian Police Commission has heard two such cases in the past 10 years, and Caywood said it is uncommon for the Department of Police Accountability to receive civilian complaints about vehicle pursuits — she knew of just one case from several years ago.
“If DPA were to get complaints about unsafe vehicle pursuits,” Caywood said, “we would examine the incident with great scrutiny, because pursuits are so dangerous, and threaten the lives of both officers and bystanders.”
So police pursuits are dangerous but pushing high speeds in a lamborghini on suburban streets is not? Additionally, why is everything spoken from the point of view of the cops? Noone ever speaks/criticizes the bad guys actions. We wouldn’t even talking about any of this if anyone mentioned in the article would have just pulled their vehicles over when signaled to do so by police, like the majority of is
Was there another chase yesterday (June 27)? There was one car driving like a lunatic at about 4:10 PM at Market and Van Ness and something like eight SFPD cruisers chasing after it.
Sounds like you already know the answer. Or are you concerned that you may have been hallucinating?
The Carlo Watsons of the world are the problem here.
Lets be perfect clear, the police did not kill that person a violent criminal trying to get away from the police kill the person. The police should not be on trial here, while sad that someone died as a result of this CRIMINAL, I’m happy that the police did manage to get him off the streets. Hopefully now that he is facing actual murder charges the DA doesn’t go soft on him and he doesn’t serve time, like when he was arrested for carjacking 2 years early… or when he was arrested in Feb for vandalism > $5000, or in March for the same thing, or any one of the of multiple times he was arrested for carjacking or vehicle theft yet somehow was never imprisoned for any real amount of time.
So the SFPD did a perfectly fine job IMO on this, more scrutiny needs to be given to the various DAs of counties around the area as to why a constant repeat criminal wasn’t in prison, because if he was then Mr. Nguyen would still be alive.
I agree 100 percent with you Mike..I am so sick of everyone blaming the police for everything that criminals are doing! So what’s happening is news media is letting criminals know that they can keep on doing what they want cuz the cops won’t be able to chase them..
If it’s anything like the way they “review” their other policies (ie. the ones that always wind up with Black and Brown people getting killed), then I’m not holding my breath for any improvements.
Especially not with London Greed’s sidekick Crooke Jenkins overseeing things.
Before commenting on SFPD’s pursuit policy and the need for even stricter reform, you should TRY to find all the facts about the above two incidents you referenced. 1) The May 23rd pursuit was initiated by SFPD however, taken over by SFSD who was lead in the pursuit at the time of the crash… [look at how their pursuit policy (which is much more lenient) and the deputies (s) who may have contributed to the collision]. 2) The Officers in June 21st pursuit DID NOT hit the motorcyclist. In fact, they likely saved the motorcyclist’s life by redirecting the patrol vehicle into an abandoned building at the last minute, after observing the fleeing VIOLENT FELONY VEHICLE strike the motorcyclist, who was left in the path of the pursuing SFPD vehicle!
Furthermore, SFPD only pursuits about 1% of vehicles that flee from them everyday! Officers frequently have a multitude of vehicles that flee from them on a daily basis, usually for vehicle infractions! That 1% are the vehicles wanted for VIOLENT FELONIES, often with weapons. Even then, most supervisors cancel pursuits if their wasn’t major injury inflicted on the victim(s).
> …redirecting the patrol vehicle into an abandoned building.
Give Roscoe P. Coltrane a pat on the back.
Jimmy well said!!! The local media is so quick to have a negative report when a story involves the police specifically SFPD. I like that you bring up the point that SFPD do not continue many, many ‘chases’ that do not make the news!
Sgt Carl T said he does not personally believe in police pursuits. Funny because in 2012 he posted a video on Facebook of him allegedly driving a Lamborghini at 100 mph through the Broadway tunnel. I do have respect for Carl T as he was a darn fine police officer.
Spike strips should be permitted with supervision from a ranking officer. SF is only 49!square miles of congested city streets which makes pursuits inherently dangerous. Must pursue only under extreme circumstances on per case basis with supervision from a lieutenant or higher. Can’t give up pursuits altogether because it will embolden every criminal to flee with no consequence. No SFPD helicopter to assist a pursuit since the crash many years ago and cost to purchase, upkeep, and personnel.
Krupke good call on Carl T & the Lamborghini😂How can Carl T not believe in police pursuits??? Way to throw SFPD under the bus..but you are correct in not giving up pursuits altogether. We cannot embolden the criminals..
Thank you so much for the compliment. I tried. And yes, I was the idiot posting Lamborghini videos, yet there was no truth to the 100 mile per hour hyperbole. If you read my quoted comment completely, you will see that I once endorsed and even encouraged high speed pursuits. Times change, and I evolved. Too much risk to the public and too much liability for the city.
Took it through three gears at 80%, and half way through 4th. I call BS that wasn’t a 100 when it was backed off, which any Lamborghini will easily do in 3rd.
Oh snore. You are dragging Carl T’s personal behavior into this and it has zip to do with vehicle pursuits.
Thank you! Plus, I wasn’t being pursued.
Carl T guess u were lucky the news of your Lamborghini thrill ride weren’t in this time (2023) it would not look good. Conduct unbecoming.