Oakland police have new pursuit policy after much debate
Oakland Police Commission approves new police pursuit policy
After months of debate, the Oakland Police Commission voted unanimously to approve Police Chief Floyd Mitchell's proposed changes to the police pursuit policy.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Police Department now has a new pursuit policy after much debate.
For months, Police Chief Floyd Mitchell has been pushing for change.
On Thursday night, the debate and vote did little to ease concerns about public safety.
Mitchell explained how he came up with the changes and why they're needed.
After about 90 minutes, the commission made their decision.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Mitchell's proposed changes to the police pursuit policy.
Before, officers were able to continue a chase while awaiting a supervisor's approval, but needed additional permission to continue a chase that was over 50 miles per hour.
Now, under this new policy, officers will be able to give chase at any speed, but still need immediate permission from a supervisor.
Oakland residents had mixed reactions.
Ricardo Aguayo liked the change.
"I think it's good, because I think Oakland has been a little lax in terms of law enforcement, unfortunately," he said. "And I think this is something thats needed to help the community feel safe."
But Don Dunbar had the opposite reaction.
"To chase someone in a high-speed chase and put other people in jeopardy?" he said. "That's idiotic."
The 19 risk factors officers have to consider remain the same.
They include if children and older people are around, time of day, and traffic conditions.
"The pursuit of non-violent felonies is just not on the table, so in sticking with best practices and listening to our stakeholders, that recommendation or option was removed," Mitchell said.
The Anti-Police Terror Project's Lance Wilson said he didn't want any changes to the current policy. But he was concerned that an even less restrictive policy would be approved.
"It would be a tragedy if that happened. We've already heard city council members saying that they want to make this policy less restrictive, so police officers can chase individuals for nonviolent crimes and property crimes. And we know if that happens on Oakland streets, it will be tragedy after tragedy," Wilson said.
When asked by a police commissioner if the number of pursuits would likely increase with these changes, Mitchell replied: "I don't know if it's going to increase. That's something that, number one, we're going to monitor and come back on a regular basis to report to you if we see an increase or decrease."
Critics said they're also concerned that Oakland Police do not have dash cams.
The police commission's chief of staff said the new policy goes into effect immediately.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has been pushing Oakland to loosen restrictions on police pursuits.
In a statement after the vote, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said her priority is to maintain "safeguards that protect innocent lives and giving our police the tools they need to keep Oakland safe."
KTVU reporter James Torrez contributed to this report.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave a message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU