This is the sickening moment a cop laughs and cracks jokes after a high-speed “ghost chase” ended in a bystander being killed.
Graphic footage showed Oakland police in the unauthorized pursuit of a driver in June 2022 before the suspect crashed and left onlooker Lolomanaia Soakai dead.
The officers left the scene without providing assistance, cracked jokes, and one even said, “Hopefully he’s f–king dead.”
The 25-minute video was submitted by the family of Soakai, a young airport worker who died on the sidewalk, into the discovery process of a lawsuit by his estate against the City of Oakland.
Footage shows Oakland police pursuing Arnold Linaldi before he fatally crashes into Lolomanaia Soakai.
The video tracks the two speeding vehicles, the crash and its aftermath.
The fatal crash happened after an unauthorized, undocumented police chase, otherwise known as a “ghost chase.”
First responders arrive at the scene of the Oakland crash.
The clip consists of surveillance cameras and body-cam footage that show 19-year-old Arnold Linaldi doing donuts in his car. He then speeds away on International Boulevard while officers Walid Abdelaziz and Jimmy Marin-Coronel pursue him.
The police officers gave chase to Linaldi without lights or sirens in what is known as a ghost chase, or an unauthorized, undocumented chase by law enforcement.
The officers followed “close behind the entire time without lights, sirens, or alerting dispatch to their chase,” court documents said.
Lolomanaia Soakai, 27, was killed on June 2022 after the vehicle struck him following a “ghost chace.”
Soakai’s mother was also injured during the 2022 Oakland crash.
In the video of the chase, Abdelaziz swerves and “narrowly misses” a random pedestrian. “I’ll run your stupid ass over,” he can be heard saying.
Then the crash violently happens, with a vehicle spinning out of control. There are images of Soakai lying on the ground motionless, blood pooling around his head. His mother, who was also injured, is sitting beside him, crying, “He’s my son.”
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A memorial announcement for Soakai following his tragic death.
The cops can be heard wondering if there’s been a crash. “He did, huh?” said Abdelaziz. “He smacked the f–k out of that truck.”
Marin-Coronel then said he’s hopes he’s dead. The video shows the police officers leaving the scene without providing any assistance to the dying man.
They came back later, pretending they didn’t know what happened, according to Adanté Pointer, an attorney for the family.
The cops turned off their body cameras and deleted portions of the video, Pointer added, before arresting Linaldi.
Following the incident, the cops later resigned.
“These officers took every opportunity to skirt responsibility,” Pointer told FOX 2. “These officers took every opportunity to dishonor their oath and their badge.”
The California Post reached out to the Oakland City Attorney and Oakland Police Department, who declined to comment.
The court case is pending in San Francisco’s Northern District federal courthouse.
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