An alleged July 4 robbery in SF led to some fleeing suspects evading police, and SFPD just released wild drone video of the suspects trying to get away by driving the wrong direction across the Bay Bridge into oncoming traffic.
Apparently there was some kind of robbery in San Francisco on July 4 which we did not hear much about, and it did not make the news. But we’re hearing about it now, mainly because of the brazen and completely unsuccessful method the suspects employed to try to get away from police pursuit. KGO directs us to this SFPD drone video of the wrong-way driving getaway attempt across the Bay Bridge, which did not end well for the suspects who attempted this.
SFPD gives a pretty brief description of the crazy scene in their Facebook post from Thursday, merely saying, “SFPD ARRESTS 2 ROBBERY SUSPECTS: On 7/4, a fleeing vehicle traveled against traffic on the Bay Bridge. Officers took both suspects into custody with assistance of SFPD drone.”
But the video itself contains multitudes more action than that description indicates. A pair of people suspected of a robbery and multiple vehicle thefts were noticed by plainclothes officers driving a black Range Rover, and the suspects may have realized someone was onto them. In fact, an SFPD drone was following them.
So they make their way onto the Bay Bridge, heading eastbound on the lower span, you know, the normal way. But at one point, they get the idea to evade police by pulling a U-turn and driving straight into oncoming traffic, back in the direction of San Francisco.
Most shocked motorists simply stop out of fear, but the Range Rover keeps weaving between many cars that do not realize what’s coming. Predictably, this ends in a collision. Both suspects attempt to escape the Bay Bridge on foot, neither making it very far before being arrested.
Okay, it may be fair to wonder if the SFPD should be devoting resources to producing these slick action videos with Michael Bay film-style musical overlays. But this incident does show the value of SFPD drone usage, as several police cruisers following that Range Rover going the wrong way across the Bay Bridge would probably have had a vastly worse outcome.
Image: SFPD via Facebook
