Newsom urges Oakland to end policy stopping police from chasing criminals

(The Center Square) - California Governor Gavin Newsom urged the City of Oakland to reconsider its policy of severely limiting the circumstances under which the Oakland Police Department is allowed to chase criminals. Newsom’s letter to Oakland comes one day after his executive order to remove homeless encampments from all state property and his encouragement that local governments follow his lead.

“The [California Highway Patrol] has brought to my attention that they observed criminals often fleeing with impunity because it’s common knowledge that the Oakland Police Department’s (“OPD”) pursuit policy allows vehicle pursuits in only very limited circumstances,” wrote Newsom in his letter to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, the Oakland City Council, and the Oakland Police Commission.

“Oakland is an outlier by imposing exceptional restrictions on OPD’s ability to police criminal activity, generally permitting pursuits only for “violent forcible crimes,” as defined in OPD’s policy, and crimes involving firearms,” continued Newsom. “This means that, unlike in nearly all other California jurisdictions, local police in Oakland cannot pursue individuals suspected of committing many felonies, any misdemeanor, even if violent, and other offenses that endanger public safety, such as reckless driving, sideshow activity, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”

In his letter, Newsom also noted how earlier this month he directed CHP to quadruple its number of shifts in the Oakland area for the next four months — July through the November election.

Oakland has been the center of national controversy in recent months, from severe undercounting in the city’s crime statistics reports to an FBI investigation into the mayor over an alleged pay-for-play scheme involving campaign contributions and the awarding of lucrative city contracts.