# Four police officers dead, suspect killed in Oakland, Calif



## Nfld Sapper (22 Mar 2009)

3 officers dead, suspect killed in Oakland, Calif.
Updated Sun. Mar. 22 2009 10:23 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Three police officers are dead and another is clinging to life in Oakland after a parolee opened fire during a traffic stop and later shot members of a SWAT team that were on his trail. 

The gunman, identified as 26-year-old Lovelle Mixon of Oakland, was killed by police, ending the worst day of violence in the history of the Oakland Police Department. 

Three officers had never been killed in the line of duty in a single day. 

"It's in these moments that words are extraordinarily inadequate," Mayor Ron Dellums said during a news conference on Saturday night. 

The shooting began on Saturday afternoon, when two officers on motorcycle patrol stopped a Buick in east Oakland, according to police spokesperson Jeff Thomason. The driver opened fire on the officers, killing Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, and wounding Officer John Hege, 41. 

Hege has suffered brain damage, his family said, and may not survive. 

After the shooting, the suspect fled the scene on foot, which led to a sweeping manhunt involving Oakland police officers, California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff deputies. 

Much of east Oakland was closed off to traffic during the search. 

Two hours later, an anonymous tipster told officers that the gunman was inside an apartment building. 

When a SWAT team entered the apartment, the suspect shot them with an assault rifle, according to police. 

Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35, were killed. A third officer was grazed by a bullet. 

Members of the SWAT team returned fire and killed the suspect, said Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan. 

Police said Mixon carried two different weapons, one used during the first shooting and another used during the apartment shooting. 

According to Jordan, Mixon had an "extensive criminal history" and was wanted on a no-bail warrant. 

"(Mixon) was on parole and he had a warrant out for his arrest for violating that parole. And he was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon," said Oakland Police Deputy Chief Jeffery Israel. 

Israel said it is unclear why officers initially stopped Mixon, but it appeared to be a routine traffic stop. 

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to fly to Oakland no Sunday to meet with police and the mayor. 

Mourners gathered near a granite memorial to fallen officers that is housed in the lobby of Oakland's main police station. The memorial lists 47 officers killed in the line of duty, the last in January of 1999. 

Tension between Oakland officers and the community have been high since a transit police officer shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was unarmed, on New Year's Day. 

In that case, Bay Area Rapid Transit Officer Johannes Mehserle has pleaded not guilty on a murder charge. In the weeks after Grant's death, citizens took to the streets in violent protests.

With files from The Associated Press


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## bender (22 Mar 2009)

RIP Officers


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## Good2Golf (22 Mar 2009)

Very sad news.  RIP officers.  Hoping that Officer Hege recovers.


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## ENGINEERS WIFE (22 Mar 2009)

A very sad day for all of the men in blue, especially for the family of the fallen.  RIP guys  
Hoping for a full and speedy recovery to the injured.


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## chris_log (22 Mar 2009)

Yet another example of the dangers faced everyday by law enforcement folks, a fact many seem to forget.


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## ENGINEERS WIFE (22 Mar 2009)

Family defends man accused of killing 3 California police officers

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
     




Oakland, Calif. Mayor Ronald V. Dellums addresses a news conference Saturday, March 21, 2009, after three police officers and the suspect were killed and another police officer was critically wounded by the suspect who was pulled over for a routine traffic stop. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/D. Ross Cameron 

OAKLAND, Calif. - The family of the man labelled the killer of three police officers in Oakland, Calif., is defending the 26-year-old parolee who also was slain. 

Authorities in Oakland say suspect Lovelle Mixon was slain in a gunfight with police in which two officers were killed Saturday. Police said another officer was fatally shot earlier in the day and a fourth was gravely wounded after the two of them pulled Mixon over for a traffic stop. 

A cousin of Mixon said Sunday that he was "not a monster." 

Twenty-eight-year-old LaTasha Mixon of Sacramento also said her family's prayers were with the slain officers' relatives. 

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday ordered flags at the state capitol flown 




http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2009/03/22/8845796-ap.html


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## ENGINEERS WIFE (22 Mar 2009)

"A cousin of Mixon said Sunday that he was "not a monster." 

I can understand this guys family being upset at losing him.  

But how can you explain away him killing 3 officers in cold blood?  Unless he is hopped up on some hallucinogenic drug or VERY mentally unstable, there is no reason for anyone but a 'monster' to do something like that.

I guess we will have to wait and see if there is more to this story.  It is very sad.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (22 Mar 2009)

The injured Officer has also died.


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## Nfld Sapper (22 Mar 2009)

Like Bruce said the fourth officer has now passed.

Gunman kills 4 officers in Oakland, Calif.
Last Updated: Sunday, March 22, 2009 | 5:22 PM ET 
CBC News  

Four California police officers have died after after a shootout with a crime suspect in Oakland.

The shootings happened Saturday after a routine traffic stop. Two officers on motorcyle patrol were shot by a man wanted for violating his parole.

One of the officers died at the scene and the other, who was seriously wounded, died Sunday.

About two hours later, officers received an anonymous tip that the gunman was inside a nearby apartment building. Two officers and the 26-year-old suspect were killed during an exchange of gunfire.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said the incident shows the criminal justice system needs more resources.

"It's just an indication to me that our prison system is broken, the parole system is inadequate and, instead of cutting back and putting more and more burdens and restrictions, we have to give the police greater authority to do their work and protect the citizens," he said.

The suspect was armed with an assault rifle, police said.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered flags at the state capitol be flown at half-staff Sunday in honour of the slain officers. He arrived in Oakland on Sunday to meet with the city's mayor and members of the police department.

With files from the Associated Press


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## SoldierInTheMaking (22 Mar 2009)

That's sad to hear...R.I.P Officers.


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## ENGINEERS WIFE (24 Mar 2009)

Parolee in police shootings linked to rape the day before

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


SAN FRANCISCO - Oakland police say the parolee who killed three Oakland police officers and left a fourth brain-dead had been linked by DNA evidence to a rape the day before the shootings


Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason has confirmed a published report that DNA from an unsolved rape in Oakland earlier this year matched that of Lovelle Mixon. Investigators got that information Friday, the day before Mixon opened fire on officers following a routine traffic stop. 

Motorcycle patrolmen Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, was killed at the scene and Officer John Hege, 41, was declared brain-dead over the weekend but remains on life support. Mixon later shot and killed two SWAT officers, Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35, before he was gunned down


http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2009/03/24/8860676-ap.html


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## Yrys (24 Mar 2009)

same subject :

Four Oakland policemen shot dead, BBC News


Gunman Was Suspect in Rape, Police Say

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland police announced late Monday that they had made a tentative DNA 
match connecting the gunman in a deadly shootout with police officers on Saturday with an unsolved 
sexual assault last month.

The match needs to be confirmed with additional testing, officials said, but the announcement seemed
to be offered as a possible motive from the police for why the gunman, Lovelle Mixon, a 26-year-old 
parolee, might have chosen to shoot at the officers, rather than surrender. Mr. Mixon set off the 
deadliest confrontation in the history of the Oakland police after he shot two officers shortly after 
being pulled over on Saturday in what had been described as a routine traffic stop. Mr. Mixon fled 
to his sister’s apartment before being tracked down and killed in an exchange of fire.

All told, five officers were shot. One was not seriously hurt, but three were killed and one is 
brain-dead, remaining on life support in case his organs can be donated.

When Mr. Mixon was pulled over, the authorities had a warrant out for his arrest because he had 
missed three meetings with his parole officer. The parole violation could have sent him back to 
prison for five to nine months. A rape conviction would have carried far more severe punishment.

Efforts to reach Mr. Mixon’s family late Monday night for comment on the rape accusation were 
unsuccessful.

But news that Mr. Mixon had been the primary suspect in another crime, first reported on the Web 
site of The San Francisco Chronicle, added a new wrinkle to a case which has devastated many 
Oakland residents. Hundreds of Oaklanders, poured into City Hall on Monday to sign a condolence 
book, and the Police Department planned a large public memorial for Friday.

At the same time, some residents were feeling the weight not only of the officers’ killing but also 
of the all-too-common story of a young black man fallen violently afoul of the law. They wondered 
what the episode meant for the days ahead here.

Relations between the police and black residents of Oakland had already been under severe strain 
because of a white transit police officer’s fatal shooting of a young unarmed black man in January. 
Tensions in the city are now such that on Monday, in the murder case arising from that killing, a 
lawyer for the transit officer, Johannes Mehserle, cited them in successfully arguing for a delay in 
a pretrial hearing.

Still, Jakada Imani, executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, said 
he hoped the latest shootings, in which none of the officers were black, might somehow bring an 
opportunity for growth.

“The police and communities of color, we are all on eggshells,” said Mr. Imani, an Oakland native. 
“There’s concern about having officers who are scared, and worries about the community being 
scared. So the question is, How do we build that trust?”

A vigil is planned for Tuesday night in the area where Mr. Mixon was pulled over before the first 
shootings. On Monday, Mayor Ron Dellums and his staff met with community leaders at City Hall 
to address what a spokeswoman, Karen Boyd, called a range of topics, including “support for 
police and support for the people who are suffering a great loss.”

The California attorney general, Jerry Brown, said the shootings highlighted a need for greater 
control of the some 125,000 parolees in California. “I don’t think anyone can deny the need for 
more supervision,” Mr. Brown said.

Mr. Mixon originally went to prison at age 20, corrections official said, sentenced to six years for 
assault with a firearm. He was released on parole in October 2007. In January 2008, that parole 
was suspended when he fell under suspicion of murder. Though he was not charged with that crime, 
he was found guilty of a parole violation and sent back to prison on a variety of grounds, including 
possession of drug paraphernalia, forgery, identity theft, attempted grand theft and receiving stolen 
property.

His next release, in November, was his last. His uncle Curtis Mixon said he had been depressed 
because he could not find a job. “I was worried about him because I knew he was depressed,” 
Curtis Mixon said. “And I was worried he was going to get back in these streets. And that’s exactly 
what happened.”

At City Hall on Monday, a steady stream of residents arrived to pay respects to the officers who were
gunned down. Eva Redd Hornsby, said she felt for the mothers and family of the officers, as well as 
that of Mr. Mixon, who she said had committed “a suicidal act.” “I’m just sad,” said Ms. Hornsby, a 
64-year-old retired African-American nurse and mother of two boys, “because of that moment and 
what it portends.”

_Solomon Moore contributed reporting._


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