OAKLAND — An Oakland officer called 911 last month to report being forced out of his truck by an armed carjacker who brandished a gun and drove off with the vehicle, but investigators aren’t buying his version of events, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Officer Eduardo Arrizon reported his 2016 Chevy Silverado stolen just minutes after the truck was seen by multiple eyewitnesses driving erratically and crashing into stationary objects. One of those eyewitnesses reportedly identified a picture of Arrizon as the truck’s driver, who emerged and made a run for it after the truck ran down a stop sign and came to a halt, authorities said.
Arrizon, 31, has not been arrested or charge in connection with the hit-and-run, but the investigation remains active. He has been placed on administrative leave, multiple law enforcement sources told this news organization. A lawyer with the firm representing Arrizon has declined to comment and a message sent to the officer’s city email account went unreturned as of Friday afternoon.
The investigation started a few minutes before 5 p.m. on Aug. 3, when multiple Oakland residents called police to report that there was a tree blocking the roadway on the 1900 block of 69th Avenue. Police responded to find Arrizon’s Chevy smoking and disabled near a damaged stop sign, authorities said.
The witnesses recounted how the truck had sideswiped a parked car and then uprooted the tree, dragging it into another parked vehicle. The Chevy continued down the street as the woman who owned one of the parked cars angrily attempted to drive after it. With the tree blocking her path, the woman exited her vehicle and attempted to catch up with the Chevy on foot, then watched in awe as it collided with a stop sign and came to a rest, police said.
That’s when the Chevy’s driver was seen exiting through a passenger door and running northbound on Church Street, authorities said. Arrizon’s driver’s license was reportedly found on the truck’s floor.
Four minutes after the car crash, Arrizon called 911 to report that he’d been carjacked, authorities said. He allegedly said he was driving the Chevy on the 2100 block of 69th Avenue, when he came across several men loitering next to a double parked car that was blocking the street. When he honked his horn to get them to move, he claimed a man walked over with a firearm, pointed the gun at him and told him to “run it.” He gave up the truck out of fear for his life, he reportedly told police.
Investigators were unable to verify Arrizon’s version of events. They say nearby residents’ security camera showed the Chevy drive down that block at a normal rate of speed and continue up 69th Avenue, where it eventually ran a stop sign. Another local resident reported that he never saw a group of men loitering or a carjacking, and that he was paying extra attention that day because his grandson was playing in the front yard throughout the afternoon.
Three eyewitnesses were given …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
