San Francisco has witnessed yet another vehicular altercation, this time with 23-year-old Natomee Hinton leading SFPD officers on a perilous chase from the Tenderloin to the Embarcadero, an incident that culminated in his arrest from the Bay waters. Hinton, identified by the District Attorney's office, is currently facing charges including assault upon a peace officer and evading an officer with willful disregard.
It began on Tuesday, when officers from SFPD spotted Hinton, who had a no-bail warrant from Los Angeles County, and a pursuit ensued after he refused to cooperate and fled, leading to a sequence of collisions and near misses, according to the District Attorney's press release. The chase, fraught with danger as Hinton reportedly drove recklessly, running multiple red lights and reversing onto sidewalks, causing pedestrians and officers alike to dive out of harm’s way, ultimately drew a considerable crowd and a flurry of videos circulating on social media.
Following Hinton's reckless evasion through the city, in which he purportedly hit a marked patrol car multiple times and damaged various other vehicles, the San Francisco Police Department exercised caution and terminated the pursuit; nevertheless, they later located and apprehended him after he fled into the Bay waters, as acknowledged by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. The SFPD reported no serious injuries from the ordeal in their official statement.
"I want to thank our officers who acted heroically to confront a violent suspect endangering the lives of officers and the public," SFPD Chief Paul Yep commended the police force's efforts, as indicated in a release covered by The Standard via Hoodline.
Hinton's arraignment took place yesterday, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges, with the preliminary hearing scheduled for September 11, and he remains in custody with no bail due to the public safety risk he poses. The District Attorney's Office and SFPD continue to treat the incident as an active investigation, calling for any information from the public to assist the case.
