Police chases pose safety risks

Last Tuesday, a video of police vehicles driving at high speed through 7th Street around 10 p.m. began circulating on the San José State University subreddit, garnering concerned responses from students.

The incident involved a female evading a peace officer with “wanton disregard for safety” and was referred to an outside agency, according to the University Police Department’s Daily Crime Log.

Patrol Lieutenant Rafael Alvarez of the SJSU UPD confirmed that the officers involved in the chase were not with the department but with the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff. 

The sheriff’s office did not respond to the Spartan Daily’s requests for comment in time for publication. 

James Orlando Ogle, a temp worker who solicits signatures for local legislative petitions on 7th Street, said his partial blindness makes him more vulnerable to dangerous situations – like a police chase.

“If they (sheriffs) were coming right now and the sirens were loud enough, I could run out of the way, maybe,” Ogle said. “But I could see how maybe a deaf person would be in danger … they wouldn’t hear the sirens coming.”

The general campus speed limit for all vehicles is 5 mph, according to SJSU’s Rules of the Road and Campus webpage. 

The directive does not specify whether there is an exception for county or city police vehicles. 

While micromobility devices such as bicycles and e-scooters are allowed on campus grounds, the only automotive vehicles permitted are those driven by licensed and designated employees, according to the University Micromobility Policies and Resources.

“No vehicles are allowed on campus, except police vehicles and the golf carts that go around,” Alvarez said.

Kenny Tran, an SJSU third-year electrical engineering student, saw footage of the chase while scrolling through Reddit.

“I was just like, ‘Why are they going so fast?’ ” Tran said. “I didn’t know what was really going on, but I was just kind of shocked that they were driving through that fast.”

He said he understood why police might pursue a vehicle through campus, but that driving at high speeds could risk pedestrians’ safety.

“The speed is kind of questionable because there could be people walking,” Tran said. “I feel like it’s fine … as long as they (police) have their brights on, and they’re being aware. But it is pretty dangerous.”

While the UPD has primary jurisdiction over SJSU, the San José Police Department and the Unit of the Sheriff’s Office occasionally help with responding to emergencies on campus, according to the San José State University 2024 Campus Safety Plan Report.

Orion Dowdall, an SJSU third-year psychology student, echoed Tran’s concerns.

“I think it’s pretty dangerous, to be honest,” Dowdall said. “I don’t know if they should be going through there like that.”
The CSU Police Department has primary jurisdiction and enforcement authority over the SJSU campus, according to a UPD webpage.

“I figured out later that they (sheriffs) were trying to go find someone that had been speeding through campus in their car,” Dowdall said. “So I kind of get why they were going that fast, but it’s still kind of dangerous.”

Resources such as the SJPD Mobile Emergency Response Group and Equipment and the Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team can help with high-risk situations on campus, according to the same Campus Safety Plan Report. 

“I think there’s a lot of very intricate fine-tuning in creating laws to protect safety,” Ogle said. “If they are county sheriffs, it might be a county law that would need to address police in pedestrian areas or on the campus here. (SJSU) is a California University so it might be a state law that would address that.”