SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The San Francisco Police Department has been hammered by city officials after a car pursuit on Super Bowl Sunday in the Mission District sent six people to the hospital, according to KQED.
Chief Bill Scott stated, under questioning from the Police Commission, that the pursuit is still being investigated and that it wouldn’t have been allowed under the department’s previous policy, KQED reported. Proposition E, which was approved in March, expanded police powers to pursue vehicles if the occupants were suspects in any felony or “violent misdemeanor.”
KQED wrote Police Commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone questioned the effects of Prop. E and stated, “It’s early in Prop. E’s tenure—do you think it’s worth reconsidering whether this policy is serving the public interest and public safety?”
The chase, which was sparked by the call to pull over a stolen silver SUV, resulted in the vehicle plowing through the outdoor searing of Napper Tandy sports bar, destroying property and injuring patrons watching the Super Bowl, said KQED.
The driver failed to yield to the officer’s attempt to pull over the car, fleeing across the city, reports KQED, adding the driver and passenger are both facing several charges including evading a police officer and vehicle theft. The vehicle was reported stolen out of Richmond.
Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission and opposes Prop. E, criticized the police pursuit, calling it a “miracle” no one died in the “dangerous high-speed chase,” said KQED.
In her letter of inquiry sent to Scott, she asked, “How did this incident comply with the current SFPD policy, and how did it rise to the level of vehicle pursuit that ultimately put many lives in danger?”
According to Carter-Oberstone, a progressive commissioner, the SFPD has one of the worst apprehension rates and highest collision rates during pursuits, KQED reported.
In her letter, Supervisor Fielder also emphasized “there were other options that could have avoided such a confrontation that resulted in significant bystander injuries and extensive damages to a local business establishment.”
Scott told the commissioners there was no need to “draw any conclusions as to why these outcomes (happen).”
Carter-Oberstone pressed Scott and asked why another controversial power expanded by Prop. E, drones, couldn’t be used in chases to avoid these types of outcomes, said KQED, but Scott said the city’s current fleet currently doesn’t have the capabilities of using drones in high-speed chases and that six drones are now in use for short, lower-speed pursuits only.
