With crime way down in San Francisco, it’s been a tad dull for the city’s mayhem-loving citizen journalists. So when a wild police-chase video appeared online Tuesday, it captured social media’s full attention.
The San Francisco Police Department said officers encountered an armed man who was wanted for a violent felony driving on Market and Jones streets Tuesday around 12:45 p.m. They tried unsuccessfully to pull the suspect over. Cue the “Grand Theft Auto” theme music.
In the dramatic video, filmed at Golden Gate Avenue near Jones Street and posted to the TenderloinActivites Instagram account, suspect Natomee Hinton’s silver Audi is backed up against a curb, boxed in by two police cars, one of which is unmarked.
Meanwhile, an officer throws road spikes in front of the Audi. One officer tries to open the front passenger door; two other officers, one on each side, beat the car’s side windows with batons. Then the Audi reverses away from the spikes, and the police SUV facing the car follows, driving over the spikes and flattening its own front tire.
As the Audi backs up again, more officers enter the frame, with nine surrounding the car. Just as one cop succeeds in bashing in the driver’s window, the Audi manages to slip away as two officers dash out of its path. Another cop tries to drive an SUV — the one with a flat tire — into the Audi’s path but collides with a “no parking” sign instead.
Whomp, whomp.
@tl2active Happened about 20 mins ago. Man wanted out of LA for robbery warrants was spotted at Jones & Golden Gate, escaped, and is now fleeing along the Embarcadero. #tenderloinactivites #bayarea #sanfrancisco #viral #reels ♬ GTA San Andreas Theme (Remake) - Ben Morfitt (SquidPhysics)
As the Audi peels out along Jones Street, at least nine cop cars give chase, appearing in the frame over the next 40 seconds.
Despite the fuss, police failed to stop the 23-year-old suspect’s car, calling off the chase.
The video showcases yet another way police chases, especially in San Francisco, can go awry.
Police chases in San Francisco end in crashes far more often than those elsewhere in California, The Standard has reported. From 2018 to 2021, 41% of SFPD pursuits resulted in a collision — nearly double the statewide average of 22% and higher than Oakland (26%) and San Jose (33%). In that span, the SFPD logged 20 collisions that led to injury across 17 pursuits and two deaths tied to chases; the department apprehended suspects in just 39% of pursuits. Those findings landed ahead of the March 5 election, in which voters approved loosening pursuit rules under Proposition E.
In a statement, police said officers tried to stop the suspect on Jones Street near Golden Gate Avenue by deploying spike strips and boxing in the car, but the driver reversed onto the sidewalk toward officers, then slammed into vehicles and a building before fleeing.
The pursuit moved through the Tenderloin, Southern, and Central districts as the suspect ran red lights, drove the wrong way, sped, and caused crashes, police said.
The SFPD said it called off the chase due to safety risks while its drone unit and Real Time Investigations Center continued to track the suspect’s car. Officers eventually caught Hinton after he ran — or rather, swam, away.
About 15 minutes after the perp was spotted by police on Market Street, he was spotted again along the Embarcadero, where he’d parked the Audi and jumped into the bay. Police said they found Hinton in the water under Pier 30 and booked him on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, felony hit-and-run, felony evading, reckless driving, resisting arrest, possessing burglary tools, and related traffic violations. No serious injuries were reported.
“I want to thank our officers who acted heroically to confront a violent suspect endangering the lives of officers and the public,” Interim Chief Paul Yep said.
A video on a Citizen post shows a few dozen police officers swarming the sidewalk on the Embarcadero by the Hi Dive bar.