Driver guilty in crash that injured cop
A hitandrun driver accused of plowing into a San Francisco police officer on bicycle patrol in the city’s Tenderloin a year and a half ago, leaving the officer with a severe brain injury, was found guilty Thursday of multiple crimes.
A San Francisco Superior Court jury found Willie Flanigan, 51, guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, evading an officer and resisting an officer, each causing serious bodily injury, as well as hitandrun, reckless driving and other charges.
The jury deliberated for two days before returning the verdict to a courtroom packed with nearly 50 police officers, many from the Tenderloin Station where Officer Elia LewinTankel worked when he was struck in October 2017.
“We’re certainly pleased the jury found him guilty,” Deputy Chief Greg McEachern said outside court. “There were a number of officers here because this has affected them personally. When officers go to work every day, they know they put their lives on the line and there’s always a chance they may not go home. In this instance, that’s what happened.”
LewinTankel, 34, was hit on Oct. 18, 2017, while responding to the area of Turk Street and
“When officers go to work every day, they know ... there’s always a chance they may not go home.” Deputy Chief Greg McEachern
Van Ness Avenue, where officers spotted Flanigan in a stolen Lexus sport utility vehicle.
Assistant District Attorney Asha Jameson played video during the trial showing Flanigan speeding off and the harrowing police chase. Flanigan steered the wrong way on oneway streets to avoid capture before veering into a parking garage between Turk Street and Golden Gate Avenue.
As he exited the garage onto Turk, he blew through a stop sign and steered around a doubleparked box truck before colliding headon into LewinTankel, who was riding against traffic while responding to the call.
Flanigan fled the scene and was captured hours later.
LewinTankel was knocked into a coma and underwent major brain surgery. Paramedics believed he was dead and doctors later prepared his family, including his pregnant wife, for the worst.
He has since been recovering at a rehab facility in Arizona, where he has started to recognize his loved ones. He can stand on his own and can hold his 1yearold son, but he still faces a lifelong road of recovery, prosecutors said.
“This was a really important case to our office,” said Nikesh Patel, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. “The family of the victim, they’ve shown remarkable resolve and support during this time. Legally, justice did prevail today.”
Flanigan has a long criminal history in California, including two previous cases in which he led law enforcement officers on chases in stolen vehicles. In 2007, he fled police in Antioch, crashed and ran onto a freeway before being captured. Then in 2015, he led California Highway Patrol officers on a chase reaching 100 mph down Highway 101 in San Mateo County. He was captured when he ran out of gas and was sentenced to two years in state prison. He was released shortly before the incident that forever derailed LewinTankel’s life.
Before suffering the brain injury, LewinTankel was in law school at the University of San Francisco and was an outgoing member of the force. His supervisors placed him on bicycle patrol so he could be visible in the community and interact with people in the neighborhood.
Flanigan originally faced additional charges of attempted murder, battery on a peace office and assault on a peace officer, causing serious bodily injury, but those counts were rejected by a judge during a preliminary hearing.
“For us, most of the big issues were how the case was charged at the beginning,” Flanigan’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Alex Lilien, said.
In his closing arguments, Lilien focused on the assault with a deadly weapon charge, saying the incident was “awful” but the collision wasn’t intentional.
“I would have hoped for an acquittal on the assault with a deadly weapon based on the evidence and the fact that the other charges cover the conduct pretty well,” he said.
But for the dozens of officers in court on Thursday, the jury’s verdict on that charge and the others brought some measure of justice to the painful ordeal.
“We’re very pleased with the verdict,” said Sgt. Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association and LewinTankel’s former supervisor at the Southern and Mission stations. “I think it’s going to restore some faith in the justice system for a lot of people.”