Video obtained by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office confirms Mission Local reporting that a San Francisco police officer lunged at scooter-rider Edwin Adams with a “football tackle” in the seconds before the 56-year-old crashed, fatally striking his head on a metal pole.
Adams fled from police officers on an electric scooter on Oct. 12 at around 11:24 a.m. He was wanted on a warrant after allegedly failing to charge his ankle monitor.
Police initially told Mission Local and other news outlets that Adams’ death occurred after he “collided with a street fixture,” and did not disclose any police involvement beyond the fact that officers pursued him. Witnesses, however, told Mission Local that Adams died after police tackled him off the scooter.
San Francisco Police Department Statement
On October 12, 2026, at approximately 11: 24am, SFPD officers identified an adult male wanted for a warrant in the area of Mission and 8th Streets. As the officers attempted to apprehend the suspect, the suspect fled on a scooter.The suspect then collided with a street fixture and suffered injury. Officers rendered aid and paramedics arrived on scene and transported the suspect to a local hospital. Despite the lifesaving efforts of the medical staff, the suspect was declared deceased in the hospital.
The public defender’s office said it chose to investigate Adams’ death after initial reporting by Mission Local. After seeing three witnesses quoted whose accounts differed from police statements, Angela Chan, an assistant chief at the office, said, “We knew we had to look into what happened.”
The crash occurred at a bus stop at Mission and Eighth streets in SoMa. In surveillance camera footage obtained from a building across the street, a man in dark clothing — presumably Adams — can be seen riding a scooter in the middle of Mission Street, toward the intersection of Mission and Eighth, pursued by a gray sedan.
As the rider approaches the intersection, a man exits the passenger door of what appears to be an unmarked police car blocking the lane in front of the rider. The man runs towards the scooter rider and lunges at him with arms extended.
Video shows the tackler hit the ground. Roughly two seconds later, the scooter rider crashes, though the actual collision is not caught on video. The footage, however, shows the aftermath of the crash with the rider prone against the bus stop at Mission and Eighth.
A second sedan, which also appears to be an unmarked police vehicle that had pursued the scooter rider, is then seen passing the fallen rider, crossing into the opposing flow of traffic on Mission Street. Moments later a marked police vehicle enters the frame.
The San Francisco Police Department has not yet identified the officers involved nor has it released body camera footage of the incident or the police report, citing ongoing investigations.
A police department spokesperson declined to comment on the video of Adams’ death, citing an active investigation within the district attorney’s Independent Investigations Bureau, an office dedicated to “police accountability” that reviews uses of force by police.
Adams was arrested in May of this year for allegedly possessing a controlled substance for sale. He was placed on an ankle monitor while awaiting trial.
According to Superior Court records, the sheriff’s office — which oversees people on ankle monitors — demanded warrants for Adams’ re-arrest in four separate instances, all for violations of his release agreement. Three times, he was arrested and shortly after released on an ankle monitor.
The fourth and last of these warrants was issued on Oct. 8, four days prior to Adams’ death. Adams’ attorneys say the warrant was issued because his ankle monitor ran out of battery.
On Oct. 12, police officers encountered Adams. According to the initial police statement, “officers identified an adult male wanted for a warrant” and as they tried to arrest him, he began fleeing on an electric scooter.
The public defender’s office says that it was not aware of any warrant for Adams’ arrest. It is not clear whether Adams knew of the warrant either, his attorneys added. Sheriff’s warrants related to ankle monitors are relayed to police, not attorneys, and Adams had no other outstanding warrants.
SFPD policy directs officers to treat pursuits of people on electric scooters as if they were on-foot pursuits. The police cite unique difficulties in chasing scooters, which have the potential to outmaneuver and escape officers on foot or in vehicles.
The public defender’s office has submitted a complaint to the Department of Police Accountability, the city’s law enforcement watchdog, requesting that the incident be further investigated.
Public defenders wrote that the officers involved used excessive force and charged that the SFPD’s failure to disclose its officers’ involvement in Adams’ death “damaged SFPD’s reputation and credibility.”
