From the Chronicle online story:

But Priano says police often use the split-second decision defense as justification.

"The big question is was he posing an immediate threat to public safety at the time they spotted him?" Priano said. "Was there another way they could have apprehended him if they knew who he was? My feeling — he was not going to stop once he ran away from the house and got into a stolen car.

"The point is, what did they expect him to do — pull over appropriately?" Priano said. "Most likely, no."

Resendez said allowing a suspect to run off sends a bad message to criminals, and Priano agrees. But she is convinced the risk isn't worth it.

"We do believe they should be caught," Priano said. "But we also don't believe that innocent lives should be put at risk."