3 Oakland officers shot dead, another brain dead on life support

[jimmy olsen]

  And least the perp bought it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29817606/

4th officer brain dead after shooting in Oakland
Violence began when a parolee opened fire at a traffic stop

updated 1 hour, 58 minutes ago

OAKLAND, Calif. - An Oakland police officer shot during a traffic stop was declared brain dead on Sunday and on life support, a day after three other officers were fatally shot in what was being described as the deadliest day in the department's history, police said.

Officer John Hege, 41, was being kept alive on life support at Highland Hospital after being gravely wounded in the first of two shootings on Saturday, Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said. Earlier Sunday, Thomason said the officer had died. He later released a statement saying Hege was brain dead but on life support until a final decision could be made on organ donation.

A 26-year-old parolee wanted on a parole violation opened fire on Hege and 40-year-old Sgt. Mark Dunakin after they pulled him over Saturday afternoon, police said. Dunakin died that day. Hege was hospitalized with a major brain injury and survived through the night, his family said.

Suspect Lovelle Mixon was slain later Saturday afternoon in a gunfight with police that left two more officers dead. Thomason identified those officers as Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35.

Violence began with traffic stop
Oakland police said never in the department's history had so many officers been killed in the line of duty in a single day.

The violence began when Hege and Dunakin, both on motorcycles, stopped a 1995 Buick sedan in east Oakland just after 1 p.m., Thomason said. The driver opened fire, killing Dunakin and gravely wounding Hege.

The gunman then fled on foot, police said, leading to an intense manhunt by dozens of Oakland police, California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff deputies. Streets were roped off and an entire area of east Oakland was closed to traffic.

Around 3:30 p.m., officers got an anonymous tip that the gunman was inside a nearby apartment building. A SWAT team entered the building and the gunman opened fire, police said. Romans and Sakai were killed and a third officer was grazed by a bullet, police said.

Officers returned fire, killing Mixon, Acting Oakland police Chief Howard Jordan said.

"It's in these moments that words are extraordinarily inadequate," said Mayor Ron Dellums at a somber news conference announcing the slayings.

Governor meeting with police
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered flags at the state capitol flown at half-staff Sunday in honor of the slain officers. Schwarzenegger arrived in Oakland on Sunday to meet with Dellums and members of the police department.

"All four officers dedicated their lives to public safety and selflessly worked to protect the people of Oakland," he said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those lost, the Oakland Police Department and law enforcement officers throughout California during this difficult time."

Police said Mixon used different weapons in each incident. One gun was used at the first scene and an assault rifle was used at the apartment building where he was hiding.

"(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.

Police said they did not know why the officers initially stopped the suspect, but said it apparently was a routine traffic stop. Thomason said Mixon had an extensive criminal history and was wanted on a no-bail warrant.

Suspect 'not a monster'
Reached by telephone late Saturday, Dr. John S. Hege said his son loved being a policeman and recently became a motorcycle traffic patrol officer. "He liked excitement," he said.

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

LaTasha Mixon, 28, of Sacramento said Sunday her cousin was "not a monster." She said her family's prayers were with the slain officers' relatives.

"We're devastated. Everybody took a major loss. We're crushed," she said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

[KRonn]

What a terrible thing.    My condolences to those families. So sad.

[CountDeMoney]

Nothing routine about routine traffic stops.  Ever.

[Darth Wagtaros]

I believe traffic stops are the most dangerous task police officers can undertake. 

[Neil]

Nothing routine about routine traffic stops.  Ever.

Well, not in a city with black people in it.

[Ed Anger]

I believe traffic stops are the most dangerous task police officers can undertake.

Domestic disturbances might top that. Especially when the woman who got the crap beat out of her turns on the cop for arresting Wifebeater McTrash.

[dps]

I believe traffic stops are the most dangerous task police officers can undertake.

Domestic disturbances might top that. Especially when the woman who got the crap beat out of her turns on the cop for arresting Wifebeater McTrash.

I'd guess that there's a psychological component at work.  That is, the police officer expects trouble when called to a domestic disturbance or such, they don't expect it so much when making a traffic stop--even though they know intellectually that it can turn violence at any time, as CdM points out, they're not really expecting it to--after all they do it all the time with no incident.