A throng of police officers descended upon Precita Park this evening, where a police vehicle chase came to an end. Just before 5 p.m., Mission Local’s Eleni Balakrishnan witnessed at least a dozen police cars pursuing an SUV with a flat tire at a leisurely speed southbound along Mission Street, and then turning left onto Cesar Chavez toward the park.
Rae Wymer, at Precita Park, says police surrounded a Chevy SUV with Colorado plates and a flat right-front tire. She reports that kids at nearby Leonard Flynn Elementary School were placed on lockdown; Flynn assistant principal Ronald Louie says that “a couple hundred” after-care students were inside. After some tense minutes, children and parents eventually streamed out of the school.
Dozens of officers were present initially, and blocked off Precita Park. At least 10 remained at around 5:35.
The particulars behind who was in the SUV, why they were being pursued and how they got a flat tire are not yet known. Mission Local has made inquires to the SFPD.
The SUV, Wymer reports, is crammed with toilet paper rolls, plastic bags, and other items — its entire trunk is packed full. The suspect purportedly told police three cats were in the vehicle. Officers searched for them, and Animal Care and Control was on the scene. Only one cat was located before the SUV was packed up and towed away.
An ambulance, which may have held the driver of the SUV, departed for Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital at around 5:40 p.m. Ingleside Station Capt. Amy Hurwitz would only say that a “non-officer individual” was hospitalized with “non-life-threatening injuries.”
She said today’s events may have stemmed from a “road rage incident.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated as possible.
I counted 15 police cars – which means this was more than twice as big of a deal as a routine traffic stop. And I’m sure there were more police cars up in front of the line before filming started.
SFPD speaks of a lack of officers, but every time I see a traffic stop, I see at least 4-5 police cars. I would love to hear the police tactic for that 15th car in the line. Just like for that 3rd, 4th and 5th for a traffic stop.
Didn’t someone say the Police are understaffed?
Related: I thought the final sequence of the Blues Brothers was fiction.
Pussycats #2 and #3 probably still are in deep hiding. When they don’t want to be found, they are the best at concealing themselves. Please leave food and water in the car for them.
This police chase almost hit my wife return from school pickup. It was very far from leisurely. Through Noe Valley they had to be going 40-50 MPH
Agreed – the car was flooring it around Duncan & Dolores before officers used spike strips to pop the car’s tires.
It might have started high speed, but after the SUV got a flat tire it seemed to be moving relatively slow. They passed our house three times over the course of ten minutes and were moving at about the same speed as normal traffic each time.
This was a dramatic seen.
The police were driving at high speed down Valencia St. more than 10 police cars, so I’m hoping it was a major bust, and not a road rage incident.
What are you talking about? Some road rage incidents ARE “major”,resulting in horrendous violence, not to mention property destruction.
Thank you SFPD!
all 3 cats were impounded.
This was a road rage thing. I saw the driver of the SUV. He came to an intersection, cutoff the cop car, flipped them off and yelled, and then floored it…right in front of James Lick
Wonder what happened to the other two cats. . .and who was in the ambulance?
A police car nearly side swiped us on Dolores
Luckily we were having our holiday party in the school so many of the kids’ parents were there. I was a lot less freaked out being on lockdown because I was with my kids.
Nothing leisurely about elementary school kids going into active shooter lockdown. If the risk was toilet paper rolls and cats, that should have been communicated to the kids crying and calling their parents from inside the Flynn cafeteria. Better communication between SFPD and SFUSD would be great, or even to the worried parents standing behind the caution tape.
I was inside the school – the kids were fine. They were happy to keep the Christmas party going inside. The cops were communicating with the vice principal who made announcements inside.
I imagine that the info about toilet paper rolls and cats came after the incident was over. Unfortunately this is the fallout of things like this.
I imagine it is standard practice to lock down any school close to a confrontation between cops and criminals like this, since it could end up with shots being fired. Or armed criminals fleeing the vehicle on foot in the area.