Feb. 27, 2023

Updated: Feb. 27, 2023 3:52 p.m.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

Police officers who last week witnessed four people fleeing a burglarized gem shop in Oakland decided not to chase them, citing a department policy that bars vehicle pursuits except for incidents involving guns or forcible, violent crimes.

Thieves who broke into the Happy Heart shop on Piedmont Avenue made off with about $100,000 worth of jade, owner George Lee told The Chronicle, tripping an alarm before they bolted at 11:34 p.m. on Feb. 20. 

Officers dispatched to the scene “observed four individuals enter an awaiting vehicle and flee northbound on Piedmont Ave.,” a statement from the department said, but the police did not follow them.

They allegedly stole “pendants, bangles — jade we have collected since 2005 or 2007,” Lee said Monday, waiting as a work crew repaired a front door the perpetrators had broken when they used a tool to pry open the lock, according to police.

Oakland’s rules on police chases dictate that “pursuits may only be initiated when there is reasonable suspicion to believe the involved individual(s) committed a violent forcible crime and/or a crime involving the use of a firearm, or if there is probable cause that the involved individual(s) is in possession of a firearm,” a statement from the department read.

A special order that took effect in December also prohibits police from chasing a vehicle if either the officer’s or the suspect’s vehicle exceeds 50 mph, unless a watch commander or command officer has granted permission. Officer Rosalia Lopez, a department spokesperson, said Oakland police generally need approval from a supervisor before they pursue a motorist, and that they always have to consider other risk factors, including traffic conditions and the number of pedestrians on the street. 

“The policy is based on what this community values,” Sgt. Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association said. “The decision has been made that we should not chase except in the most extreme circumstances. That’s what the officers did in this case.”

San Francisco Police Department has a similar policy, authorizing pursuits of people suspected of committing a violent felony, or “When there is … reasonable belief that the individual needs to be immediately apprehended because of the risk that individual poses to public safety,” a general order issued in 2013 states. 

It requires police to safely apprehend the alleged violator without unnecessarily endangering the public or law enforcement. State law also mandates that police weigh the benefits of immediate capture against the danger posed to officers and the public, when determining whether to initiate or end a chase.

Surveillance video reviewed by the Chronicle shows a person entering with a gun drawn, though Lopez said officers weren't aware of any weapons when they spotted the alleged perpetrators. The initial information conveyed to patrols did not mention weapons, Lopez said.

Lee believed the officers opted not to trail the suspected burglars because it was too dangerous — a decision the shop owner supported.

“The money lost, you can make it back,” Lee said in a weary, resigned tone. But you can’t recover a life lost in a violent confrontation, he conceded, adding that a chaotic or high-speed chase also presents the risk of vehicle crashes.

Still, he seemed crushed by the burglary, his first in 27 years of running a business in Oakland.

Reach Rachel Swan: rswan@sfchronicle.com