San Francisco man dies after police chase over ankle monitor warrant

Edwin Michael Adams, 56, died on Monday following a police pursuit in San Francisco’s SoMa district. According to attorneys and court records, Adams was being pursued on a warrant issued less than a week prior for allegedly failing to charge his ankle monitor, a condition of his release pending trial for non-violent drug charges.

Witnesses reported that a man appearing to be a plainclothes officer exited a gray Ford Fusion during the chase and tackled Adams off his motorized scooter into a bus shelter. Adams reportedly struck his head on a metal pole during the incident. While the San Francisco Police Department stated that Adams “collided with a street fixture” during the pursuit, witnesses described the encounter as a “football tackle.”

The San Francisco District Attorney’s office is conducting a criminal investigation into the death, as per an agreement to probe incidents involving police use of force or deaths of individuals in custody. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office has called for a thorough and independent investigation into the decision to pursue Adams and the circumstances leading to his death.