Newsom calls on Oakland to allow more police chases, stop suspects from ‘fleeing with impunity’

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday sent a letter to Oakland officials urging them to allow police to engage in more vehicle pursuits, contending that the limitations placed on officers contribute to public safety challenges in the city.

The California Highway Patrol inspired the governor’s missive after the agency “observed criminals fleeing with impunity” during the governor’s campaign to boost law enforcement and reduce crime in a city that has historically been one of the most dangerous in the state.

In a policy Newsom described as an “outlier,” Oakland only allows police chases when a suspect is armed with a gun or involved in a forcible violent crime. The governor pointed out that unlike in other cities, Oakland police cannot pursue people suspected of committing many felonies or any misdemeanor, such as reckless driving, sideshow activity, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“I urge you to reconsider whether OPD should be permitted to pursue suspects in more circumstances to improve public safety in your city and to establish a process to evaluate whether OPD is making full use of its authority, including that granted under the existing pursuit policy, to protect public safety and enforce the law,” Newsom wrote.

The governor’s letter, addressed to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, the Oakland City Council and the Oakland Police Commission, laid out his support for a recent City Council decision to review the policy.

A top political topic in the 2024 election, crime has created pressure on Newsom and other elected officials and bolstered criticism of California’s criminal justice policies.

Newsom ramped up police presence in Oakland in February with the deployment of 120 California Highway Patrol officers to the city under a state law enforcement campaign targeting an uptick in violent crime and theft.

At the time, reports of In-N-Out Burger and other high-profile businesses in Oakland closing due to crime had made headlines around the country and raised questions about state policy and the need for criminal justice reform in the Golden State. In his letter, Newsom referenced viral videos and news coverage “witnessed regularly by the public” that show the dangers of allowing criminal acts, such as reckless driving at sideshows, to go unchecked.

The governor also acknowledged risks associated with pursuits, which he said can be “dangerous to police, suspects, and innocent bystanders.”

Newsom quadrupled the number of shifts CHP officers conducted in Oakland two weeks ago, with the goal of targeting organized crime, sideshows, carjackings, and other criminal activity over the next four months.

In the letter, the governor wrote that CHP “observed suspects attempting to escape arrest by using the same routes, concluding that they knew where OPD would discontinue a pursuit” because of the pursuit policy. In comparison, CHP’s pursuit of suspects, with the help of air support, caught suspects in each of the six chases that state officers initiated.

The increased CHP presence in the East Bay has resulted in the recovery of more than 1,142 stolen cars, the seizure of 55 firearms, and the arrests of 562 suspects, according to the governor’s office.