The warrant that sent San Francisco police officers after Edwin Michael Adams on Monday, resulting in his death, was for failing to charge his ankle monitor, according to Adams’ attorneys.
Adams, 56, was killed during a police chase along Mission Street. Three witnesses told Mission Local that a man appearing to be a plainclothes officer stepped out of a gray Ford Fusion that had been pursuing Adams, who was on a motorized scooter. They said the man then tackled Adams off his scooter into a bus shelter. Adams’ head struck a metal pole and he died.
One witness described the officer executing a “football tackle” on Adams.
The San Francisco Police Department has said only that Adams “collided with a street fixture” after a pursuit, and was subsequently taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead. It said officers gave chase because Adams was “wanted for a warrant.”
That warrant stemmed from an alleged failure to keep his ankle monitor charged, according to public defenders representing Adams. His attorney confirmed that Adams was issued an ankle monitor as a condition for remaining out of jail while his charges were pending.
Jail logs show Adams was booked at least four times between March and September on nonviolent drug charges and contempt of court. He had not gone to trial for any of the charges.
Sheriff’s deputies had asked the court to issue the warrant after Adams violated the terms of his ankle monitor deal, sheriff’s spokesperson Tara Moriarty said.
The warrant was issued less than a week before the chase, on Oct. 10, San Francisco Superior Court records show.
The district attorney’s office is investigating Adams’ death, a spokesperson said. Under an agreement between the DA’s office and SFPD, DA investigators look into incidents like police shootings, deaths of those restrained by officers or held in their custody and uses of force that put someone in the hospital.
In those cases, DA investigators lead the criminal probe into whether officers broke the law. The agreement sets a goal of finishing within six months.
Police have not said what alerted officers to the warrant, why officers chose to pursue Adams, or whether the gray sedan was an unmarked police car.
The public defender’s office said it hopes the city will independently investigate why police chose to pursue Adams. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Adams,” the office said.
Judges decide who goes on pretrial electronic monitoring and set the conditions, and the sheriff’s department enforces them, Moriarty said. Some people must stay home or away from certain places. Others only have to wear the device.
When a warrant is issued, deputies can use a monitor to find the person, Moriarty said. If the device has been removed, tampered with or lost power, finding them is harder, and law enforcement may search on their own.
While deputies would know if a monitor had been tampered with, the sheriff’s department said it did not know whether Adams was wearing his on Monday at the time of his death.
The conditions of Adams’ monitoring were not revealed by the SFPD or the sheriff’s department.
Adams’ family is now planning funeral arrangements as they wait for more information about their relative’s death.
Curtis Adams said he first received a call from a close friend telling him that his brother was in the hospital.
He described Edwin as a man “trying to get himself back together. He got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to, but he was a good dude and he got a kid that he loved.”