Oakland officers killed

[VoTrooper99]

I wonder what this genius killed them for...a traffic ticket or he had some old warrants?
Pathetic.

RIP brothers.

He has a history of violent crime and was wanted on a no bail parole violations warrant.

[Falschirmjaeger]

First two shot were a Rookie and his FTO. There was a tactical mistake made that would have saved the life of the Rookie, but not the Sergeant.

The perp double tapped the rookie as he left the scene and fled to his sisters.

The weapon used on the remaining two officers was an SKS, *NOT* an AK like has been reported.

Why the final two officers made entry before the area was secure, or the full call out from SWAT was on scene is still being determined.

3 of the 4 officers killed were Sergeants, and one of the Sergeants had been responsible for training over 600 of the OPD's 875 officers.

They will be sorely missed.

That's about all I can say.

[RockOut]

RIP....

[zuluzerosix]

First two shot were a Rookie and his FTO. There was a tactical mistake made that would have saved the life of the Rookie, but not the Sergeant.

The perp double tapped the rookie as he left the scene and fled to his sisters.

The weapon used on the remaining two officers was an SKS, *NOT* an AK like has been reported.

Why the final two officers made entry before the area was secure, or the full call out from SWAT was on scene is still being determined.

3 of the 4 officers killed were Sergeants, and one of the Sergeants had been responsible for training over 600 of the OPD's 875 officers.

They will be sorely missed.

That's about all I can say.

It was on KCBS again last night. Something is wrong with the story. I have a feeling that that the SWAT team entry team made some mistakes. There is more to this story, it's just that nobody is talking. On the news they showed pictures of the entrance to the sister's apartment. There looked to be burn marks on the carpet by the door. I would think those came from flash bangs.

The report said the gunman was hiding in a closet and shooting through the sheet rock walls. I have a feeling the police made entry and were ambushed inside the house.

Tragic.

[Altimeter]

RIP. ' ' ' '

[Falschirmjaeger]

It was on KCBS again last night. Something is wrong with the story. I have a feeling that that the SWAT team entry team made some mistakes. There is more to this story, it's just that nobody is talking. On the news they showed pictures of the entrance to the sister's apartment. There looked to be burn marks on the carpet by the door. I would think those came from flash bangs.

The report said the gunman was hiding in a closet and shooting through the sheet rock walls. I have a feeling the police made entry and were ambushed inside the house.

Tragic.

There were mistakes. I actually haven't seen the reports on TV, but I'm in the Bay Area right now, and I got the info from a friend last night.

The Sergeant killed on the T-Stop was known and loved throughout the department. Think about being first on the scene, then do the math.

I understand the funeral will be Friday morning at the Oakland Colosseum. They are expecting 10-15K people.




Edit: Example piss poor reporting:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...M0AJ.DTL&tsp=1

Two hours after Hege and Dunakin were shot, SWAT officers Sgts. Ervin Romans, 43, of Danville and Daniel Sakai, 35, of Castro Valley stormed Mixon's sister's apartment and were shot and killed by Mixon, who fired from a closet with an AK-47 assault rifle, police said.

It was an SKS, *NOT* an AK-47. But the anti-gun ignoramuses want to get all the mileage they can out of it.

Better coverage here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11978822

Parolee stood over stricken police officers and fired again

By Harry Harris and Cecily Burt
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 03/23/2009 02:53:37 PM PDT

Lovelle Mixon, a parolee on the run, already had shot Oakland police Sgt. Mark Dunakin and Officer John Hege. Then, as the two men lay on the ground, Mixon stood over them and fired again.
But the ex-con wasn't done. He ran around the corner to his sister's apartment and waited — SKS military assault rifle ready — for the officers he knew would come after him.
Those were some of the horrifying details that emerged Monday about the shootings of four veteran Oakland police officers Saturday by a violent felon who has also now been linked to the rape of a young girl last month.

Three of the officers were declared dead over the weekend. A fourth, Hege, was taken off life support Monday afternoon at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Dunakin, 40, of Tracy, a motorcycle officer, stopped a Buick driven by Mixon in the 7400 block of MacArthur Boulevard at 1:08 p.m. Saturday, possibly for expired registration, police sources said.
It is not known whether Hege, 41, of Concord, also a motorcycle officer, was with Dunakin at the initial stop or pulled up later.
During the stop, Dunakin requested Mixon's license and ran a check, sources said. Mixon's picture was on the license, but the license number belonged to another person.
As Dunakin was walking back to the car, Mixon stepped out and began shooting with a semi-automatic handgun, hitting Dunakin and Hege, police sources said.
The officers did not have a chance to draw their weapons or to radio for help. Witnesses said Mixon then stood over the stricken officers and shot them again before fleeing with the gun. A passer-by aided the officers and made the first 911 call at 1:16 p.m.
A massive manhunt began, and police cordoned off the block where the car stopped and shooting occurred. Within a short time, officers got a tip that the shooter was inside an apartment building on 74th Avenue, a short distance away.
It was not clear whether they knew the identity of the suspect or that he was wanted on a no-bail warrant; however, sources said the tipster may have known Mixon.
Either way, the man inside was a killer, armed and dangerous.
Within 45 minutes of the initial traffic stop, police from Oakland and other agencies had surrounded the apartment building.
A SWAT team, led by Sgt. Dan Sakai, 35, of Castro Valley, spent nearly an hour on the details of their plan, then, along with camouflaged sharpshooters, got into position.
Police tried to make contact with Mixon but got no response. They worried that others were inside the apartment, and because of the unit's location immediately inside the front entrance, they worried the suspect would start shooting into the street.
Commanders also were concerned about the safety of the occupants inside the other apartments and could not figure out a way to safely carry out an evacuation, said a commander who was at the scene and did not want his name used.
"It was a very tough building to approach and evacuate people," the commander said.
For those reasons, the team decided to enter the apartment.
Sakai, Sgt. Erv Romans, 43, of Danville, Sgt. Pat Gonzales, and four other Oakland officers forcibly entered the apartment, lobbing at least two flash-bang grenades to distract the suspect, and quickly made their way down a dark hallway toward the only bedroom.
Mixon, hiding in a closet in that room, didn't wait. He began firing through the walls into the hallway without warning. The officers didn't have a chance.
Romans was the first hit, police sources said. The team could not see Mixon and made their way to the back room, said Harry Stern of Rains, Lucia and Stern, an attorney representing the police officers who shot Mixon.
A couple of officers dragged Romans out of the apartment, bullets still whizzing by their heads. At that point, an Alameda County sheriff's deputy who is a member of the department's SWAT team saw them carrying Romans out and rushed inside to help.
Mixon was killed, but not before Sakai suffered a fatal wound to the head and Gonzales was hit in the shoulder. A bullet also grazed Gonzales' SWAT helmet. He drove himself to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
Mixon's 16-year-old sister was inside the apartment during the shooting but was not hit by the gunfire.
SWAT experts around the country said the situation seemed to dictate Oakland's response, which is first and foremost to protect the public.
"This seems typical, very typical, almost standard operating procedure, particularly if there is someone in there you know is armed and dangerous," said Jack O'Connor, executive director of the U.S. National SWAT Championships in Mesa, Ariz. "I don't think anybody can criticize these officers. They are on the ground. They have to make a decision, and their decision put them at risk. I seriously doubt that they decided to get the guy because he killed their own.
"Unfortunately, these officers got unlucky and paid with their lives," he said.
Flash-bang grenades are used to create a distraction, but in this case, the smoke and haze may have hampered the officers, Stern said, because protocol prevented the officers from firing blindly.
"These are highly trained, experienced SWAT officers. They held their fire until they had an actual target," Stern said. "They weren't even sure where the rounds were coming from."
"(After Romans was shot), they fought their way to the bedroom and figured out where he was," Stern said. "He was in the closet shooting from a lying-down position; this guy has complete intent and resolve to take down the police."
Mixon, who was released from prison late last year after serving a sentence for violating his parole for a San Francisco-related robbery shooting, was a suspect in the Dec. 30, 2007, murder of Ramon Stevens, 42, but witnesses did not come forward, investigators said. And now police have confirmed that DNA evidence from a state laboratory possibly links Mixon to the rape of a 12-year-old girl in February near the 74th Avenue apartment, Lt. Kevin Wiley said.
His DNA evidence is in the system because he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for an October 2002 carjacking in San Francisco. Police would have had to collect another sample from Mixon and compare it to the earlier sample to make sure there was a definite match before the district attorney would consider charging him in the rape.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown said Monday that he plans to look into how the 26-year-old parolee was monitored after he was released from prison.
Others are asking how Oakland's most highly trained SWAT officers could have been killed. But law enforcement experts warn against a rush to judgment, adding that the unexpected can happen, even with the most prepared.
"You have to remember that no matter how fundamentally sound you are and how many protocols you take, it doesn't mean there will never be an accident, or that someone won't be harmed," said Bill Evans, commander of the hostage, barricade and terrorist team for the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department in Chicago. "It's easy to sit back a day later and (second-guess)."
Staff writer Kristin Bender and wire services contributed to this story. Reach Cecily Burt at 510-208-6441 or cburt@bayareanewsgroup.com.

[T10]

OAKLAND (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―

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Parolee who gunned down four officers. AP
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A parolee with an "extensive criminal history" who killed four Oakland police officers had been linked by DNA evidence the day before the shootings to the rape of a 12-year-old girl, according to Oakland Police.

The girl was raped on February 5th in the 2800 block of 73rd Avenue, near the sites of the officers' shootings, according to Oakland Police Lt. Kevin Wiley. Officers took DNA samples from the girl at the time and six weeks later, the state DNA lab came back with a "hit" on gunman Lovelle Mixon, said Wiley.

But police could not have immediately issued an arrest warrant for Mixon because investigators first needed to gather another sample of his DNA for comparison purposes, said Wiley, who oversees the police sex crimes unit.

Mixon was the primary suspect in the rape and is being investigated to see if there are any connections to other rapes, said police. Mixon also was a suspect in a murder last year but was never charged, according to state prison officials.

Investigators said they got the DNA rape information on Friday, the day before Mixon opened fire on the 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. Mixon later shot two SWAT officers, Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35, before he was gunned down.

Officer Hege was taken off life support Monday night and his organs were harvested for donation.

Funerals for the four slain officers were set to be held Friday at Oracle Arena. The Oakland Police department indicated that the services would be open to the public and people were urged to show up early for the 11 a.m. event.

How Mixon got the guns used in the shootings of the officers, including an assault weapon, had not been disclosed. Officials at the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said convicted felons commonly get firearms through burglaries and from straw buyers who purchase them at retail stores or gun shows.

Earlier Monday, state Attorney General Jerry Brown also said he would examine how Mixon was monitored following his release from prison in November on a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon.

Mixon was one of 164 Oakland parolees in mid-March who had outstanding arrest warrants for parole violations, state prison records show.

Problems involving parolees from California's overcrowded prison system have long beset state officials who must monitor them, as well as local officials who try to keep streets safe and federal authorities who enforce firearms and other laws.

But Brown said it was clear that parolees like Mixon must be tracked and restricted more aggressively.

"Mixon was certainly a character that needed more supervision," said Brown, a former mayor of Oakland. "In Oakland, the highway patrol has an office there, sheriff and police. And all those agencies should have a list of the more dangerous, threatening parolees so they can keep a watch on them."

Mixon's family members said he was upset that he was unable to find work, felt his parole officer was not helping him and feared he would be arrested for a parole violation.

Mixon was wanted for missing an appointment with his parole supervisor, state Department of Corrections spokesman Gordon Hinkle said. Parole violators typically face five to nine months in prison.

The parole agent for Mixon made three attempts to meet with him in late February before a no-bail parole revocation warrant was issued for Mixon's arrest, Hinkle said.

The parole agent first tried to visit Mixon on Feb. 18, but he wasn't around. The agent tried to visit again on Feb. 24 and told Mixon's mother that he was looking for Mixon, according to Hinkle.

The agent made one more attempt on Feb. 26 but Mixon still could not be located, Hinkle said. Then on Feb. 27, the arrest warrant was issued.

The city of Oakland, population 400,000, had more than 1,900 total parolees at the time of Mixon's gunbattle with police, including nearly 300 who had been returned to custody or whose parole was about to be revoked.

State prison officials said Mixon's parole officer was responsible for 70 of those parolees.

A caseload of that size is nearly unmanageable, and also not unusual, said Lance Corcoran, spokesman for California's prison guard union, which includes parole officers.

Too many parolees prevents officers from effectively monitoring or guiding them back into society, Corcoran said.

"There is no control," he said. "It's simply supervision, and supervision at distance."

But Hinkle maintained that "due diligence was made" to try to make sure that Mixon lived up to the terms of his parole. His failure to meet with his parole agent was "a clear violation of his parole and unfortunately, there was a catastrophic result," Hinkle added.

Mixon was convicted of assault with a firearm in San Francisco in 2002 and was sentenced to six years in state prison.

Hinkle said Mixon was paroled on Oct. 6, 2007, after serving about five years but was returned to prison on Feb. 26, 2008, for violating his parole.

Mixon was paroled a second time on Nov. 1, 2008, he said.

Mixon was a suspect in a murder case in Alameda County in late 2007 but police didn't have enough evidence to charge him in the case, according to Hinkle.

However, in investigating the murder case authorities determined that Mixon had violated his parole by possessing drug paraphernalia and engaging in identity theft, forgery, fraud and attempted grand theft, Hinkle said.

Hinkle said people such as Mixon who are paroled from state prison are clearly told that they must meet regularly with their parole agents.

"They understand that," Hinkle said, noting that Mixon was a "high control" parolee who would have been expected to meet with his parole agent at least a few times a month, at the discretion of his agent.

Alameda County Superior Court records indicate that Mixon was arrested in Oakland on Oct. 18, 2000, and charged with felony possession of cocaine base for sale and felony possession of marijuana for sale.

However, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office allowed him to plead no contest to one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana and he was sentenced to three years' probation, including 30 days in the county jail.

Mixon applied to participate in a work furlough program but the Alameda County Sheriff's Office rejected him, saying in a Jan. 29, 2001, letter in his court file that he didn't return an employment agreement and his "past case of violence could pose a threat to the program, staff and community."

(Editor's note: Funds have been established in support of the families of the fallen officers and individual checks may be mailed to the Oakland Police Officers Association, attention Rennee Hassna, 555 Fifth St., Oakland, Ca, 94607. Checks can be made out to the following: Dunakin Children's Family Trust; Romans Children's Family Trust; and Sakai Family Trust.

Wire transfers may be made to directly to Merrill Lynch accounts: Dunakin Children's Family Trust, account No. 204-04065; Romans Children's Family Trust, account No. 204-04066; and Sakai Family Trust, account No. 204-04064.)


(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)

[Zimmy]

So quit letting these fucks out of prison.



RIP, officers.