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The Bay Area community is buzzing with controversy following an incident involving San Leandro’s Police Chief, Angela Averiett. She is accused of being involved in a hit-and-run accident, where she reportedly sideswiped a family’s car on the highway. The chief later claimed that chest pain had compelled her to drive on the shoulder and speed home.
During the incident, Chief Averiett was driving her police department-issued Jeep on Interstate 580 near Dublin. According to reports from ABC 7, she veered off the shoulder and collided with a family returning home from a San Francisco Giants game. The collision left the family, particularly the driver, Daffani Ryan, in shock.
“I just got hit by a police officer,” Ryan exclaimed to emergency dispatchers, describing the collision as sounding like a shotgun blast. Still reeling from the incident, Ryan recounted to ABC 7 how the silver Jeep’s lights were flashing right before it made contact with her car, clipping the driver’s side mirror and continuing on without stopping.
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In response to the startling event, Ryan quickly dialed 911, with her husband and two children still in the car. This incident has raised questions and concerns within the community, as residents await further clarification and investigation into the actions of the police chief.
âI just got hit by a police officer,â she told dispatchers, describing the impact as sounding like a shotgun blast.
Ryan told ABC 7 the silver Jeep’s lights were flashing right before “it smoked my mirror,” clipped her driver’s side and sped off without stopping.
Her husband was able to take down the vehicle’s the license plate number, which the California Highway Patrol traced back to Averiettâs SUV.
In her account to investigators, Averiett claimed she didnât realize a collision had occurred and didnât hear any impact, even though both vehicles had matching damage.
The CHP, citing the chief’s claims that she wasn’t aware she struck anyone, declined to pursue hit-and-run charges.
The case took another eyebrowâraising turn when Ryan said a San Leandro Police lieutenant later called her to offer to pay for her car’s damages if she didnât report the incident.
Antwinette Turner, now a deputy chief with Bay Area Rapid Transit, was the officer who reportedly attempted to negotiate for her chief.
The incident is part of a wider internal complaint filed last month by San Leandro Police Department Sgt. Mike Olivera.
The nineâpage document accuses Averiett of a âtroubling pattern of lack of accountability, selective enforcement and concealment of violations.â
The San Leandro Police Officers’ Association attorney, Mike Rains, also expressed his belief to ABC 7 that Averiett was given preferential treatment.
Union leaders say the situation has crushed morale among rankâandâfile officers, who believe the chief received special treatment not afforded to regular cops, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Averiett, a veteran of Bay Area law enforcement since 2001 who was previously with the Hayward Police Department and BART Police, refused to answer questions when confronted by ABC 7 in the San Leandro Police Department parking lot.
