To: Members of the California Parole Board:
Re: Deny the Early Release of Willie Flanigan (also known as Maurquise Johnson)
Inmate # BL3458
I write to you today in my capacity as President of the San Francisco Police Officers Association to strongly urge the Board to deny any request for the early release of Willie Flanigan (also known as Maurquise Johnson), inmate # BL3458 who was sentenced in 2019 to 12 years and 8 months in state prison for a violent, reckless crime that permanently altered the life of a dedicated San Francisco police officer and his family.
On Oct. 18, 2017, Mr. Flanigan struck SFPD Bicycle Officer Elia Lewin-Tankel, then 32 years old, with a stolen vehicle as he was fleeing from law enforcement. In the course of fleeing — driving the wrong way down one-way streets, through traffic and a construction zone — Mr. Flanigan collided with Officer Lewin-Tankel, causing severe, permanent brain damage. The impact of that collision has left Officer Lewin-Tankel with life-altering injuries.
Lewin-Tankel’s head injury caused by Willie Flannigan was so severe that responding paramedics believed he was dead.
And after surgeons at SF General Hospital removed a portion of his skull the size of a human hand, they braced his then pregnant wife: The father-to-be might end up as little more than a pulse in human form.
But Lewin-Tankel fought hard at a rehab center and miraculously survived. He no longer needs a network of tubes and wires to keep him alive. He started recognizing his wife, an English teacher at Mission High School. He can hold his son.
The fact that Lewin-Tankel is still alive and has limited mobility is a miracle. But his life and that of his family were forever changed and altered by the crimes committed by Mr. Flannigan. At the time of the crime against him, Officer Lewin-Tankel was both working at SFPD and attending law school — his dream to become a lawyer practicing before the Bar is now forever shattered and impossible.
Following a trial in 2019, the assailant Mr. Flanigan was found guilty of multiple serious felony offenses, including:
Assault with a deadly weapon
Hit-and-run causing serious bodily injury
Evading and resisting an officer
Fleeing the scene of an accident
Receiving stolen property
Being an unlicensed driver
Mr. Flannigan was sentenced accordingly to what was then the maximum term under the law.
Officer Lewin-Tankel was more than a uniformed public servant — he was a respected colleague, an award-winning officer, and a devoted husband and father.
Prior to the collision, he had built a promising career and was known for his community engagement and professionalism. His injuries have forever altered his ability to live, work, and provide for his family. His recovery has been described as “miraculous” only in light of how dire his condition was; the effects of the crime continue to impact him and his loved ones every day. He will never be the same. He will never be the son or husband he was or the father he could have been.
This was not a minor traffic incident; it was a violent felonious act involving dangerous evasion of police and reckless disregard for human life. The sentence imposed reflects the gravity of the crime and the Legislature’s intent to protect public safety and hold violent offenders accountable.
It was also not the first time Mr. Flannigan was in trouble with the law: His rap sheet dates back to the 1990s. Two of those cases — prior incidents in which Mr. Flanigan also fled the police. In 2007, Flannigan fled Antioch police in a stolen vehicle, crashed and ran onto a freeway before being captured. In 2015, he fled police in San Mateo going 100 mph on Highway 101 for 16 miles before running out of gas, according to prosecutors at his trial in 2017 for almost killing Officer Lewin-Tankel.
For the safety of our communities and in recognition of the profound, permanent harm inflicted on Officer Lewin-Tankel and those who care for him, I respectfully request that the Parole Board uphold the original sentence imposed by the court and deny any application for early release by Willie Flanigan.
Thank you for your careful consideration of this important matter.
Respectfully,
Louis Wong, President
San Francisco Police Officers Association
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