The Los Angeles Police Department has released dash-cam footage showing officers fatally striking a 30-year-old skateboarder as they sped through traffic with sirens blaring. The Sept. 19 video reveals the LAPD cruiser weaving around cars and crossing onto the wrong side of the road on Figueroa Street in Highland Park, where a carnival was under way, per the Guardian. Gerardo "Jerry" Estrada, whose family said he was heading home from work, appeared in the path of the vehicle as it entered the center lane. The footage captures one officer shouting warnings just before the collision, after which bystanders can be heard reacting angrily and urging police to help. Estrada, ultimately found beneath a parked car, died at the scene, per ABC7.
Police said the officers were responding to a call to help establish a perimeter during a search for a suspect with a felony warrant. LAPD spokesperson Capt. Mike Bland said the officers provided aid after the crash. The department has not disclosed the officers' names or the speed of the vehicle at the time of the incident, and questions remain about why the cruiser crossed into the lane in which Estrada was traveling.
His family described him as a generous and beloved son, brother, and uncle, with a passion for film and media. They are calling for accountability from the police, as are community members who gathered to mourn his death. "We want justice. We want them to take responsibility for what they did," said Estrada's brother, Alberto Cazares, who questioned what might have happened if children had been crossing the street. Estrada was a Santa Monica College graduate and worked at a local beer garden. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support his family. Meanwhile, the ongoing police investigation is expected to take months.
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