Oakland mourns
A long blue line of police officers, backed by a grieving city, gather to say goodbye to four cops who died doing their jobs.
The four officers' murders stunned and saddened the broad Bay Area community, but there had been a few discordant notes. There's long been tension between the Oakland Police and the city's low-income black community, as in most other big cities. It was inflamed most recently by the New Year's Day killing of unarmed Oakland resident Oscar Grant, who was shot by BART police, not Oakland cops. Despite this tense background, most Oakland residents of every ... Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala
My son has been with the Oakland Police Department for three years. He knew Mark Dunakin and was only about a block away when Mark and John Hege were gunned down. On the scene within minutes, he would have joined SWAT Sgt. Danny Sakai when the SWAT team headed off to apprehend Lovelle Mixon. Yet SWAT Sgt. Ervin Romans arrived at the last minute, and Ervin said, "I think we have enough bodies." A few minutes later, Mixon murdered both of these men. This has been a rough week for me and my wife, and a rougher one for our son. Wrenching. Paroxysms of grief. Yet joyful with meaning that is new to me. We are grateful our son was not injured. Though the pain for the victims' families remains overwhelming, the memorial service at the Oracle was extraordinary and healing.