San Diego, CA
San Diego Police Chief to address recommendations on pursuit policy
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego’s Commission on Police Practices will meet Wednesday afternoon to take a closer look at the tough question of when a police chase becomes more dangerous than the person officers are trying to arrest.
The commission has outlined nine recommendations for revising the San Diego Police Department’s vehicle pursuit policy to improve public and officer safety.
The first recommendation calls for revising the purpose of pursuit procedures to emphasize protecting the lives and safety of the public and officers, a change that the department has agreed to implement. Another recommendation is to adopt a clear definition of a pursuit, which SDPD has also agreed to do.
The commission suggests that officers make both verbal and physical acknowledgments when terminating a pursuit. While the department agrees with parts of this recommendation, it has not fully embraced it. Another proposal is to establish a vehicle pursuit review board, and SDPD has indicated its willingness to consult with the city attorney’s office about its creation.
The fifth recommendation entails including incidents resulting in injury, death, or property damage in a report analysis; however, the department disagrees, stating it depends on fault. Additionally, integrating Commission on Police Practices staff and commissioners into the department’s training curriculum was agreed upon, as was exploring advanced technologies for pursuit management.
One unresolved point is the pursuit of law enforcement accreditation, which the department disagreed with due to a projected budget deficit. Lastly, the recommendation to avoid pursuits for lesser offenses was also rejected.
“We feel that sends the wrong message that fleeing from the police has no consequences. We have seen other jurisdictions implement restrictive pursuit policies and then have to change course to address a rise in crime. That is a risk we are not willing to take here,” SDPD Chief Scott Wahl explained. “I think it is important to note that we train our police officers on when it is necessary to have or maintain a pursuit and when it is important to terminate. One out of five pursuits that we are in, we proactively terminate because the conditions are not worth the need for immediate apprehension.”
SDPD has yet to respond to inquiries regarding which jurisdictions Chief Wahl referred to in his comments.
The suggested changes come in the wake of several deadly police pursuits in San Diego.
In Dec. 2023, 4-year-old Mason and 8-year-old Malikai Orozco-Romero were killed after a suspect fleeing from police crashed into their car. This tragedy prompted the commission to review the SDPD’s pursuit practices.
Additionally, on Aug. 26, 2024, a high-speed pursuit resulted in the death of Officer Austin Machitar and critical injuries to his partner, Zach Martinez, when 16-year-old Edgar Giovanny Oviedo collided with their patrol car.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed nearly a year after Mason and Malikai’s deaths by their family against the city of San Diego continues with the next court date scheduled for the end of this month. Officer Martinez returned to work three months after the incident, and his return was noted by the San Diego Police Officers Association.
Chief Wahl is expected to formally respond to the nine recommendations at Wednesday’s meeting, which is open to the public and scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Southeast Live Well San Diego Conference Room in Chollas View on Market Street.
San Diego, CA
City considering cutting funding to resource center for those experiencing homelessness
Last week Mayor Todd Gloria released the budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal budget. Protected homeless services is among his top priorities mentioned in the proposal. However, some of the reductions he’s proposing could impact thousands of San Diegans experiencing homelessness.
Located on 17th and K Street, the Neil Good Day Center offers an array of services to nearly seven thousand people experiencing homelessness. The services include giving them a place to shower and do laundry, and connecting them to a case manager, among others.
“These are critical services that are helping people off the streets, but really better their lives and their health and their employment situation as well,” Deacon Vargas with Father Joe’s Villages said.
Deacon Jim Vargas heads Father Joe’s Villages, which runs the center. He said through their prevention and diversion strategies, they’ve managed to keep nearly one thousand individuals from falling into homelessness.
“So by helping them pay rent, or helping them with their utilities, or helping them to reunite with family,” Vargas said.
Right now, the city allocates at least $850,000 per year to the Neil Good Day Center, according to Vargas.
But the future and funding for these services are in limbo because of Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget cuts.
“The impact to those whom we’ve been serving the Daily Center would be very severe,” Deacon Vargas said.
In a statement to NBC 7, Mayor Todd Gloria said in part, “We must find more efficient and cost-effective ways to address this crisis and prioritize funding for programs that provide shelter beds and maximize resources to programs that place people into permanent housing.”
Since it’s still at a proposal stage, Deacon Vargas said it’s unclear how the city will decide to move forward.
However, Deacon Vargas said services would be significantly reduced because they would be forced to operate solely on a budget of about half a million dollars they receive from philanthropy.
“The hours would be cut. Some days would be cut. We would have showers that might be impacted because they’re given seven days a week and we’d close two days a week, then the showers would be five days a week, the case management,” Deacon Vargas said.
Deacon Vargas is certain of one thing.
He would like to continue offering services at the Day Center, even if the city goes through with the funding cuts.
“As we work with individuals at the Day Center and at Father Joe’s Villages, the community becomes healthier as a result of it,” Deacon Vargas said.
The budget also recommends additional cuts to homeless services, but does not give specifics as to where those cuts would be.
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
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San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
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