By Post Staff

At a press conference on Dec. 27, Governor Gavin Newsom gave an ultimatum to the City of Oakland. He demanded the city change its current police pursuit policy or risk losing current support from the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

“We need to see some commensurate support and reforms and changes as it relates to policing here in Oakland in order to consider extending this state subsidized partnership,” he said. “We specifically are going to need to see changes in the pursuit policy in Oakland.”

CHP’s involvement in Oakland policing over the past year has resulted in more than 1,400 arrests, representing 30% of the 4700 of the arrests made by the entire Oakland Police Department in 2023.

Aligning himself with the Oakland Police Officers Association (OPOA), Newsom called the Oakland Police Commission irresponsible in their duty to the safety of Oakland residents because they declined to change the pursuit policy when tasked to do so by the Oakland City Council:

“In July, I wrote a letter to the police commission. I wrote a letter to the city council. I wrote a letter to local leaders and the mayor at the time requesting some common sense, not going back to an extreme,” he said.

“We’re not looking for an old binary here. We’re trying to take best practices across the state and, for that matter, across the nation. It’s been a decade since that policy was reverted, and [we asked them] to update it. In September the police commission had that opportunity to do so, and they decided not to do it,” he said.

CHP Deputy Commissioner Ezery Beauchamp said, “Criminals are fully aware that when the lights come on in certain communities and municipalities, the police are not allowed to chase them. We have had CHP officers who pursue individuals and, upon arresting them, have had the criminals tell us they didn’t think we were allowed to chase them. This type of situation only benefits the criminals; it does not benefit the people that are being victimized here in California by crime.”

Over the past year, CHP conducted 500 chases. In contrast, the Oakland Police Department, with a much larger patrol force than CHP, conducted about 65.

In the public meeting of the police commission on Sept. 19, 2024, 100 residents of Oakland implored the commission to revise restrictions and restore police chase capabilities. They highlighted to the commission that “Oakland’s businesses are being targeted almost on a daily basis and we need to help our small business owners….it is a plea to help our city thrive.”

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