Crime & Safety
High-Speed Chase And Concern Over Technology: Contra Costa County
The use of automated license plate readers has generated protest in Contra Costa County and elsewhere.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Controversial automated license plate reader technology picked up a stolen vehicle on Interstate Highway 80 early Sunday morning, prompting a high-speed chase throughout western Contra Costa County that ended with the driver eluding arrest.
Hercules police staged near the Willow Avenue off-ramp around 1:10 a.m. and started following the 2004 Saturn Vue eastbound while waiting for backup.
The driver exited at Cummings Skyway, heading north towards state Highway 4, fled from an attempted traffic stop and eventually headed east on Highway 4.
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The driver exited at Pacheco Boulevard, then got back on Highway 4 heading west in the eastbound lanes, prompting pursuing law enforcement officers to terminate their chase for public safety.
Police say the pursuit lasted eight minutes and reached speeds of 90 mph, but no one got hurt.
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The use of automated license plate readers has generated protest in Contra Costa County and elsewhere due to privacy concerns associated with tracking vehicles without any reasonable suspicion that their occupants could be connected to a crime.
Immigration advocates, in particular, have raised concerns about data collected through ALPR systems being shared with federal immigration agents.
—Bay City News
