OAKLAND — In the most horrific day in Oakland Police Department history, a parolee shot to death three police sergeants within two hours of one another Saturday afternoon.
When officers tracked down the suspect, a fourth officer was shot and was in critical condition Saturday night.
When officers tracked down the suspect, a fourth officer was shot and was in critical condition Saturday night.
The three veteran officers killed were sergeants: Mark Dunakin, 40, of Tracy, a traffic officer with the department since 1991; Erv Romans, 43, of Danville, a 13-year veteran with the force; and Dan Sakai, 35, a nine-year veteran, police said.
Romans and Sakai were SWAT team members. It was the first time any sergeant in the department had been slain. Officer John Hege, 41, of Concord, was on life support at Highland Hospital. A bullet grazed a fifth, unidentified officer. He was treated and released from the hospital.
The suspect was identified as Oakland resident Lovelle Mixon, 26. He was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon, police said. He had a no-bail warrant for his arrest on charges of violating parole. He had previous convictions in Alameda County for grand theft and possession of marijuana.
"I wouldn't wish this on any of my colleagues in the United States," said acting police Chief Howard Jordan during a news conference Saturday night. "This is very daunting for us, but we are very resilient. We are a big family and we rely on each other for support."
The first shooting happened in the 7400 block of MacArthur
Boulevard about 1:16 p.m. when Dunakin and Hege were shot with a handgun during a traffic stop. What led to the shooting was not known.
A man, who did not want be identified, said he heard gunshots and saw the officers lying on the road. "I went over to one officer and saw he was bleeding from his helmet pretty bad," he said. "The other officer was lying motionless."
A man, who did not want be identified, said he heard gunshots and saw the officers lying on the road. "I went over to one officer and saw he was bleeding from his helmet pretty bad," he said. "The other officer was lying motionless."
He said the officer lying near a car was shot twice in the face. One bullet was lodged in his jaw and the other in his neck. The man said he performed CPR until other officers arrived.
Helicopters hovered for hours over the crime scene.
Dozens of Oakland police, Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff's deputies cordoned off stretches of blocks around 73rd and 74th avenues and MacArthur Boulevard.
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