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Lolomanaia “Lolo” Soakai

Age : 28

Gender : Male

Race : Native Pacific Islander

Date : 06/25/2022

Location : 5400 block of International Boulevard near 54th Avenue

City : Oakland

County : Alameda

State : California

Agency : Oakland Police Department

Officer(s) :Walid Abdelaziz; Jimmy Marin-Coronel

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash (unauthorized police pursuit)

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Bystander killed during an unauthorized police pursuit initiated after officers saw a 19-year-old driver doing donuts near a sideshow. The driver was not suspected of a violent forcible crime or of possessing a firearm, circumstances required under Oakland Police Department policy for officers to initiate a pursuit. Officers Walid Abdelaziz and Jimmy Marin-Coronel pursued without supervisory authorization, without notifying dispatch, and without using emergency lights and sirens.
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NARRATIVE:
On 06/26/2022, 28-year-old Lolomanaia “Lolo” Soakai was killed in Oakland after Oakland Police Department officers Walid Abdelaziz and Jimmy Marin-Coronel conducted an unauthorized high-speed “ghost chase” along International Boulevard. Soakai was an uninvolved bystander who had stopped at a taco truck with his mother and other family members after a graduation celebration.
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At approximately 1:51 a.m., Abdelaziz and Marin-Coronel saw a 19-year-old driver doing donuts in a Nissan 350Z on International Boulevard. The officers began pursuing the car. According to court records and subsequently released video evidence, they did not obtain the required authorization from a supervisor, did not radio the pursuit to dispatch, and pursued without activating their emergency lights and sirens.
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Oakland's pursuit policy sharply restricted vehicle pursuits because of the danger they pose to the public. At the time, officers generally could pursue when they reasonably suspected a person had committed a violent forcible crime or had probable cause to believe the person possessed a firearm. The sideshow-related driving that prompted Abdelaziz and Marin-Coronel to follow the Nissan did not meet those criteria.
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The officers nevertheless continued pursuing the Nissan through populated Oakland streets. Court records describe speeds exceeding 60 mph and reports of speeds reaching approximately 100 mph. Because the officers did not use lights or sirens or notify dispatch, the pursuit became what has been described in the litigation as a “ghost chase.”
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Soakai, meanwhile, was at a taco truck in the 5400 block of International Boulevard with his mother, Lavinia Soakai, and relatives. They had attended a graduation celebration and stopped for food. Soakai was not involved in the sideshow, the police activity or the pursuit.
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The fleeing car went out of control and crashed into parked cars and motorcycles near the taco truck. The collision created a violent chain reaction. One of the motorcycles was thrown into the air and came down on Soakai, crushing him. He died from his injuries.
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Soakai's mother suffered a broken back. His cousins and other relatives were also injured in the crash. The August 2026 settlement ultimately compensated Lavinia Soakai, Daniel Fifita, Ina Lavalu and Samieuela Finau for injuries and losses arising from the incident.
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Evidence concerning the officers' actions after the crash became a major component of the subsequent civil-rights litigation. Abdelaziz and Marin-Coronel left the crash scene without reporting their involvement in the pursuit or summoning medical assistance, according to court records, the family's lawsuit and video evidence later made public. They subsequently circled back to the crash after other police and emergency personnel responded.
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Body-camera evidence showed that the officers returned while presenting themselves as though they had not caused the pursuit that preceded the crash. A witness later approached the officers and reported seeing a police car chasing the Nissan. According to the subsequently released video and court filings, the officers looked at each other, told the witness to leave, and turned off their body cameras again.
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Court records and body-camera evidence also established that one of the officers made a remark expressing hope that the fleeing driver would die. The officers did not disclose the unauthorized pursuit to their supervisor as required.
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According to a 2026 court filing accompanying newly released video evidence, the officers later reviewed body-camera footage of their pursuit and categorized the recording as accidental, a classification that would cause it to be automatically deleted. The footage was ultimately preserved and became evidence in the litigation.
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The Oakland Police Department discovered the officers' involvement. Then-Chief Leronne Armstrong moved to terminate them, and both officers were relieved of their police powers. In 2023, they received termination letters but remained employed on administrative leave while disciplinary and legal proceedings continued.
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A civilian police oversight investigation subsequently produced sustained misconduct findings related to Abdelaziz and Marin-Coronel. The Community Police Review Agency sustained findings in ten categories, including findings involving truthfulness, general conduct and reporting violations.
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Soakai's family and injured relatives filed a federal civil-rights and wrongful-death lawsuit against Oakland and the officers. The litigation challenged not merely the occurrence of the crash but the officers' decision to undertake a high-speed pursuit that was prohibited by departmental policy and their conduct during and after the fatal collision.
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The case produced an important appellate ruling in May 2025. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held at that stage of the litigation that Abdelaziz and Marin-Coronel were not entitled to qualified immunity on the plaintiffs' substantive due-process theories. The court allowed the claims arising from the allegedly reckless pursuit to proceed.
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Abdelaziz and Marin-Coronel subsequently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. They argued, among other things, that bystanders injured by a fleeing driver should not have a Fourteenth Amendment claim against pursuing police unless the officers intended to harm the bystanders. The Supreme Court declined to take the case in March 2026.
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Both officers left the Oakland Police Department before the civil litigation concluded. Marin-Coronel resigned effective 03/26/2025 and Abdelaziz resigned effective 03/27/2025. Oakland police reported that their names had been submitted to California POST in connection with decertification proceedings, although as of early 2026 the POST matters remained pending.
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In August 2026, the City of Oakland agreed to pay $17 million to resolve the claims arising from the fatal pursuit. The settlement is being paid to Soakai's mother, Lavinia Soakai, and relatives Daniel Fifita, Ina Lavalu and Samieuela Finau.
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The settlement came approximately four years after Soakai's death and after years of litigation over whether the officers and city could be held civilly responsible for injuries caused when the person being pursued crashed into uninvolved bystanders.
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The fleeing driver later pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter. In May 2026, he was sentenced to two years in state prison and was subsequently released on parole, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.
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The $17 million settlement represents the final major civil disposition arising from the unauthorized pursuit: Soakai was an uninvolved bystander, the pursuit violated Oakland's restrictions on police chases, both pursuing officers received termination notices and later resigned, civilian investigators sustained misconduct findings, the Ninth Circuit allowed the constitutional claims against the officers to proceed, the U.S. Supreme Court declined review, and Oakland ultimately agreed to compensate Soakai's surviving family members and injured relatives.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Walid Abdelaziz and Jimmy Marin-Coronel were rookie Oakland police officers at the time of the fatal pursuit. Both were directly involved in initiating and continuing the unauthorized pursuit that preceded Soakai's death.
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Both officers were relieved of their police powers following the incident. Oakland moved to fire them, and termination letters were issued in 2023. Civilian investigators sustained multiple misconduct findings connected to the incident, including findings involving truthfulness and reporting requirements.
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The officers remained on administrative leave while contesting the disciplinary process. Marin-Coronel resigned from OPD effective 03/26/2025 and Abdelaziz resigned effective 03/27/2025. OPD reported submitting both officers' names to California POST in 2022, but the decertification matters were still listed as pending investigations when KTVU checked in 2026.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-pay-police-ghost-chase-victims-17m
https://www.ktvu.com/news/new-video-released-oakland-police-ghost-chase-led-death-bystander
https://www.ktvu.com/news/9th-circuit-oakland-police-can-be-held-responsible-injuring-bystanders-reckless-pursuits
https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-officers-take-fatal-ghost-chase-case-supreme-court
https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-decides-to-terminate-2-officers-after-deadly-unauthorized-chase-sources
https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-police-commission-investigators-find-2-officers-not-truthful-violated-policies-after-deadly-chase
https://www.ktvu.com/news/family-of-tongan-man-killed-during-oakland-police-chase-files-wrongful-death-suit
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-9th-circuit/117277515.html
https://localnewsmatters.org/2026/08/13/oakland-police-chase-17-million-settlement/