With burglaries and break-ins on the rise since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Oakland residents and business owners have called for the Oakland Police Department to allow for more vehicle pursuits to try to catch suspects. Gov. Gavin Newsom even weighed in on the issue, urging city leaders in July to loosen OPD’s restrictions on chases.
Despite requests from the public and some officials, on Thursday, the Oakland Police Commission declined to suggest changes to the police department’s chase policy.
OPD allows for vehicle pursuits only if there is reasonable suspicion that a person committed a violent forcible crime — with or without a gun — or if there is probable cause to believe that the person has a gun. The department created this policy a decade ago after OPD’s inspector general found that police chases often resulted in crashes, injuries, and even deaths of bystanders, officers, and people fleeing from police…