Commissioners received a staff presentation on Santa Ana Police Department vehicle‑pursuit statistics covering January 2022 through November 2025 and spent the bulk of the meeting asking for targeted follow‑ups rather than immediate policy changes.

Staff reported a total of 313 vehicle pursuits over the stated period. Of those, 90 pursuits (about 30%) resulted in traffic collisions. Staff said tire‑deflation devices were used 10 times total (roughly 3% of pursuits); ramming and roadblocks were not used and SAPD policy generally restricts those tactics unless deadly force is warranted and supervisory approval is obtained.

Geographically, staff said 292 pursuits (93%) began in Santa Ana and 188 (60%) ended in Santa Ana. Demographic data provided in the presentation showed 254 of the drivers in fleeing vehicles were male (81%). By race/ethnicity staff reported 212 Hispanic drivers (68%), 28 white drivers (9%), 13 Black drivers (4%) and 7 Asian drivers (2%); race was listed as unknown for 15% of pursuits.

Staff also provided a high‑level breakdown of why pursuits were initiated: about 64% were recorded as California Vehicle Code violations, 14% for reported stolen vehicles, about 6% for suspicious vehicles, 14% for wanted vehicles/other reasons and 3% at the request of outside agencies. Presenters cautioned that detailed CVC subsection breakdowns would require reviewing individual vehicle reports and are more time‑consuming to compile.

Commissioners pressed staff for several follow‑ups: a breakdown of CVC violations by infraction/misdemeanor/felony where feasible; a cross‑tabulation of reason for pursuit by driver race or ethnicity; and whether there are fatalities tied to pursuit collisions (staff said none were known at that moment but said they would follow up if records differ). Several commissioners also asked staff to investigate two settlement figures cited by the city attorney’s office: a total of about $5,160,000 in tort claims and settlements since 2019 related to SAPD vehicle collisions and a $1,200,000 subtotal tied to three collisions involving take‑home city vehicles driven by off‑duty officers.

Staff noted policy revisions adopted in a Lexipol template dated 09/03/2025 added debriefing and reporting requirements and additional training elements; language from an earlier draft that discouraged extended pursuits for nonviolent misdemeanors no longer appears in the current policy. Deputy leadership described a department‑wide emergency vehicle operations training (EVOC) program underway to retrain field operations bureau officers and said the department is evaluating whether to compile annual documented pursuit reviews going forward.

Commissioners also discussed dash‑cam deployment and how systems are configured (continuous recording versus buffer capture). Some commissioners expressed support for recommending dash‑cams to the city council once staff compiles cost and configuration details; staff said procurement timing and City Manager review would govern any formal recommendation.

No formal vote or policy change was taken at the study session; several commissioners asked staff to return with the more granular data they considered feasible for the commission’s use in a future meeting.