Local News

OAKLAND (CBS 5) ― A man wanted for violating his parole killed three veteran police officers while a fourth was said to be brain dead after two related gunbattles in East Oakland on Saturday — the first after a routine traffic stop and the second after a massive manhunt ended in gunfire, officials said. The gunman was also killed.

Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan confirmed the deaths of three of the officers at a Saturday night news conference and said a fourth was in "grave condition," but the governor's office said all four had died.

High-ranking police sources had also told CBS 5 that four officers were killed. The father of the officer said to be in "grave condition" told the Associated Press that his son was brain dead.

Police identified the deceased victims as motorcycle officer Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40; SWAT Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43; and SWAT Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35. Police said motorcycle Officer John Hege, 41, was on life support at Oakland's Highland Hospital.

Authorities indicated that a fifth unnamed officer from SWAT was grazed in the head by a bullet, but he was treated and released.

"This is a tragic day," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "All four officers dedicated their lives to public safety and selflessly worked to protect the people of Oakland. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those lost."

Schwarzenegger's staff said he would fly to Oakland on Sunday to meet with police to "get a firsthand account of what's happening."

It was the first time in the history of the Oakland Police Department that this many officers were killed in the line of duty in the same day.

"It's in these moments that words are extraordinarily inadequate," Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums said at the somber news conference announcing the slayings. "We come together in shock, in grief, in sorrow."

Sgt. Dunakin had been with the Oakland Police Department since 1991, while Sgt. Romans had been there since 1996, Officer Hege since 1999 and Sgt. Sakai since 2000.

The dead suspect was identified by police as Lovelle Mixon, 27, who had a no-bail warrant for his arrest. Mixon, an Oakland resident, had an "extensive criminal history" and wielded two different weapons, including an assault rifle, when he came into contact with police on Saturday, said OPD Deputy Chief Jeffery Israel.

"(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," Israel said.

The violent rampage began when the two motorcycle officers stopped the suspect's 1995 Buick sedan for a traffic violation in the 7400 block of MacArthur Boulevard in east Oakland about 1 p.m., said police spokesman Jeff Thomason. That's when the driver opened fire, striking the two officers.
 
The suspect fled the scene on foot into a nearby neighborhood, Thomason said, leading to an intense manhunt by dozens of Oakland police, California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff's deputies. Nearby streets were roped off and an entire area of East Oakland was shut to traffic.

Thomason said about 3:30 p.m. officers, acting on an anonymous tip, found the suspect, who had barricaded himself in a nearby apartment building. A SWAT team entered an apartment to clear and search it when the gunman opened fire, he said. Two members of the SWAT team were killed and a third was grazed by a bullet before officers returned fire killing the suspect. 
 
Witnesses to the day's events were stunned.

An Oakland resident who asked to be identified only as A. Richards was at a friend's house on 74th Avenue across the street from the three-story apartment building when she saw one of the officers being shot as she watched from a front window.

Richards said the officer was standing outside the apartment in front of heavy-duty brown double doors when there was a loud "boom" and the officer fell backward.

She said a commotion followed: "All I heard was multiple voices, 'Officer down, officer down, officer down."

Richards said Saturday night that she was still grappling with what she had witnessed.

"Everything that I've experienced in my life, the bad guy is always behind bars, but this is so different," she said.

Yolanda Johnson, an employee at Marge and Jerry's Loan Co., a pawn shop at 7335 MacArthur Blvd., said she was at work Saturday afternoon when she heard several pops from the first shooting incident.

"We were just sitting there like a normal day and we just heard gunshots and I said 'Hey everybody, duck down and close the door,'" Johnson said. "I tried to call 911 really quick but I guess everyone else was too because I could not get through."

After a while she went outside to see what had happened.

"I looked across the street and I saw the officers down and I just turned around and came back in," Johnson said.

The sight left her trembling: "It just brings tears to your eyes ... my heart goes out to the family and to the officers that were killed or injured," she said.

Johnson lives in Hayward but has worked at the pawn shop for 18 years. She said that although she has never seen anything as bad as what she saw Saturday, violence is not unusual in the neighborhood.

"As far as feeling safe, this area's getting really pretty bad," she said.

People lingered at the scene of the first shootings. About 20 bystanders taunted police.

Tension between police and the community has risen steadily since the fatal shooting of unarmed 22-year-old Oscar Grant by a transit police officer at an Oakland train station on Jan. 1.

That former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer, Johannes Mehserle, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Monday. Violent protests erupted on the streets of Oakland in the weeks after Grant's death, further inflaming tensions.

Officer deaths are also nothing new in Oakland. The memorial wall in the Oakland Police headquarters shows that at least 47 officers died in the line of duty before Saturday. The wall shows the last officer killed in Oakland was in January of 1999.

An announcement about funeral arrangements for the officers killed Saturday would be made in the coming days, Thomason said. An array of flowers, including four bouquets of white roses, was already set up in the lobby of police headquarters under the granite tribute wall.

Reached by telephone late Saturday, Officer Hege's father, Dr. John S. Hege said, "He had an injury to his brain ... and it's clear he cannot survive. ... It is a stunning thing to face, although we were always aware of the risks."

Hege, a retired physician from neighboring Piedmont, said his son loved being a policeman. He worked well with people and was an Eagle Scout. He played high school football and wrestled. He umpired and coached even as a youth, and joined the Oakland Police Department reserves.

After graduating from St, Mary's College in Moraga, he taught high school physical education for a few years in nearby Hayward before joining the police department a decade ago.

He recently became a motorcyle traffic patrol officer, Dr. Hege said, adding, "He liked excitement."

As for the slain shooting suspect, the father said, "The man was evidently terribly desperate. It is a sad story..."

Grieving officers at the police station hugged and consoled each other.

Asked how the department was coping with the deaths, Acting Chief Jordan said, "One thing is clear. These men are very resilient. We're a big family, and we rely on each other for support."

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