After months of debate, the Oakland Police Commission approved a new policy allowing officers to engage in high-speed chases at any speed, though police say they’ll only do it in cases of violent criminals.

It’s been a debate on both sides of the Bay the degree to which police officers should be allowed to engage in dangerous high-speed chases, but it’s been a bigger controversy in Oakland, which has more violent crime. And even Governor Gavin Newsom has stepped in to urge Oakland to allow police to chase more suspects at higher speeds.

So on Thursday, Newsom and Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell both got what they wanted, as the Oakland Police Commission unanimously voted to allow Oakland police to engage in chases at any speed, according to the Bay Area News Group.    

Per the News Group, the commission voted “that police can initiate a pursuit over 50 miles per hour at their own discretion, so long as they receive a supervisor’s permission for it soon afterward.”

Wait… “soon afterward?” Like, how long afterward? And if they don’t get that retroactive permission, how does that change anything if the chase has already happened?

These new high-speed chase guidelines do come with some restrictions. Police can only engage in a chase with suspects who are suspected of violent crimes or felonies, or if they believe the individual has a firearm.

"The pursuit of non-violent felonies is just not on the table,” Chief Mitchell said at the Thursday meeting, according to KTVU. “So in sticking with best practices and listening to our stakeholders, that recommendation or option was removed.”

There are also 19 "risk factors” that officers must take into account before engaging in the chase, including road conditions, and the presence of children or senior citizens.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee kind of both-sides it in her response to the vote on the new policy, saying in a statement to KTVU that that it was her priority to keep "safeguards that protect innocent lives and giving our police the tools they need to keep Oakland safe."

The move comes after an innocent bystander schoolteacher was killed in a late May high-speed chase in Oakland involving the California Highway Patrol, and a 2022 chase that killed a bystander wherein the officer driving the cruiser did not have the headlights or sirens on.

The new policy goes into effect immediately, according to the Oakland Police Commission.

Related: One Person Dead After Wednesday Night High-Speed CHP Chase in Oakland [SFist]

Image: January 27, 2019 Oakland / CA / USA - Oakland Police Department vehicle parked on the street (Getty Images)