OAKLAND, California — The City of Oakland has agreed to pay US$17 million to the family of Tongan man Lolomanaia “Lolo” Soakai, who was killed during an unauthorised police pursuit in 2022.
The settlement, reached in late July ahead of a scheduled trial, is reportedly among the largest in Oakland’s history. It remains subject to approval by the Oakland City Council.
Soakai, 28, was buying food from a taco truck on International Boulevard on June 26, 2022, when a motorcycle struck and killed him.
The motorcycle had been thrown into the air after a 19-year-old driver, who was being pursued by two Oakland police officers, crashed into parked vehicles and motorcycles.
The officers, Walid Abdelaziz and Jimmy Marin-Coronel, had reportedly begun pursuing the driver on suspicion that he was involved in a sideshow without obtaining authorisation.
Soakai’s mother, Lavinia Soakai, and his cousins Daniel Fifita, Ina Lavalu and Samieuela Finau were also injured, suffering broken bones and other injuries.
According to the family’s wrongful-death lawsuit, the officers initially left the scene despite knowing that a serious crash had occurred.
Body-camera footage reportedly captured one officer joking about the incident and expressing hope that the fleeing driver was dead.
The officers later returned and allegedly pretended they had no prior knowledge of the crash, finding Soakai dead and his mother with a broken back.
Attorney Adante Pointer described their conduct as one of the most “brazen and callous” displays of police violence he had encountered in more than 20 years representing victims of police abuse.
Pointer said Soakai had been his family’s principal financial provider. Following his death and her injuries, his mother was evicted from her home and temporarily lived in a vehicle.
