Possible police chase before crash in Oakland
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Oakland police say they are investigating if one of their officers engaged in a pursuit to chase a speeding car that crashed into a pole, sending the driver to the hospital. The police pursuit policy has caused a lot of controversy in Oakland, with many residents and even the governor saying it's time for the city to get more strict.
Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell stepped in front of the cameras Tuesday, one day after the chase. Mitchell said recent video evidence shows what happened.
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'It depicts our officer making a u-turn at the intersection of International. The officer activates their emergency lights and then observes the speeding vehicle collide with the fixed traffic pole,' he said.
Those moments between when the Oakland Police Department officer turned their lights on and when the speeding car crashed will be key to determining if an officer did in fact pursue the car.
'That will be fully flushed out during the investigative process,' Mitchell said.
The police pursuit policy in Oakland is complicated. It states that officers can only pursue a suspect if they have reason to believe the suspect has a gun or is committing a violent crime. Neighbors have rallied this year demanding a change, and small business owners say police could have stopped burglars from ransacking her store but didn't.
Even Gov. Gavin Newsom has called on Oakland police to change its pursuit policy if it wants to keep seeing mutual aid from California Highway Patrol.
'Here in Oakland, in order to consider extending this state subsidized partnership, we specifically are going to need to see changes in the pursuit policy,' he said.
KRON4 asked chief Mitchell about this specific case from Monday, if his officer is found to have initiated a pursuit.
'If a pursuit did occur they would check if it fell in or out of policy,' he said.
He also wouldn't commit to a timeline of when their investigation could finish.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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