What’d I See? SFPD Tactical Unit – And Others – Roll Through The 24/680 Wednesday

There are a thousand stories in our semi-naked Cities and Towns (our weather is cooling so folks should be less inclined to strip off for a while) and we like to think we know about most of them.

Yesterday, Wednesday, was particularly frantic with a police pursuit/search effort in Pleasanton and that, apparently, set the tone for the day.

As noted on our rather busy Facebook page a convoy of San Francisco police tactical vehicles and personnel rolled into the 24/680 at around 6 p.m. and our communications center – the one with the Dixie Cups and string – lit up with calls from observant locals who wondered who was getting invaded and why.

After a few calls and some detective work we were able to establish that the visitors were called out to make the high-risk arrest of a murder suspect in Antioch and successfully completed that task.

But our years of experience kicked in along with a nagging “I gotta bad feeling about this”-kinda feeling as the night wore on and the midnight Thunder Runners – the folks for whom running from the police is considered fun, took to the streets.

There was Stolen Mercedes Guy, who lived up to the example of erstwhile Thunder Runners everywhere by leading a multi-jurisdictional parade of police vehicles up and down the 24/680 – often either blacked out or traveling the wrong way on local streets – until he slipped unmolested out through the Caldecott Tunnel and on into Berkeley/Oakland.

Our Flash Alert System started humming around 11 a.m. as Mercedes Guy started his run and then the alerts started flying in a steady stream as we notified subscribers up and down our corridor that a run was under way. And as that often does, neighbors who weren’t getting our dispatches saw neighbors who were – and immediately began to sign up.

That’s a good thing and we were onboarding as many of you as we could in the midst of a full-blown and curvy police pursuit – but we have suggested signing up for The Flash during calmer moments. Less wear and tear on the Flash guy’s nerves.

And, yes, a few of you noted a short a short chase of yet another vehicle between Lafayette and Walnut Creek as Wednesday finally closed down for the night. There was that. So, murder suspect, special weapons team, spike strips and Thunder Runners, the end of another shift in the 24/680.

Let’s see what Thursday brings.