The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: fightingquaker13 on March 22, 2009, 06:04:11 AM
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I saw this in this mornings New York Times. # officers killed and one wounded in Oaklan. We can pray for the families. As an asault weapon was used to take out two SWAT guys and Jerry Brown, rabidly anti-gun, is AG out there, folks in California best get ready.
fightingquaker13
From The NYT 3-22-09
Three police officers in Oakland, Calif., were gunned down on Saturday and a fourth was critically wounded in an afternoon of violence that began with a routine traffic stop and ended with a grim 9 p.m. news conference to announce the toll of one of the worst days in the police department’s history.
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Grim Day for Oakland Police
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Dan Rosenstrauch/Bay Area News Group, via Associated Press
Law enforcement officers taking cover Saturday in Oakland, Calif. More Photos »
The police said a 27-year-old gunman shot two motorcycle officers after being pulled over at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, killing one and wounding the other. The gunman then fled to a nearby apartment.
A manhunt ensued through the streets of the East Oakland section of the city. When the police tracked down the gunman and burst into the apartment, he shot two more officers with an assault rifle, killing them both, before he was shot dead by the police.
The two officers who were shot at the scene of the traffic stop were identified as Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, and Officer John Hege, 41. The police said Mr. Dunakin was killed and Mr. Hege was in “grave condition” at Highland Hospital on Saturday night.
The two Special Weapons and Tactics officers who were killed in the apartment were identified as Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Dan Sakai, 35.
The police said the gunman was Lovelle Mixon, of Oakland, and said he was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon. They had a warrant out for his arrest.
They did not say why officers pulled over Mr. Mixon to begin with, but said it appeared to be a routine traffic stop.
They said he appeared to be the only suspect.
In a somber news conference at police headquarters in Oakland, police officials struggled to describe the enormity of the violence.
“I’ve been to a lot of police funerals,” said Howard A. Jordan, the acting police chief. “This will be a pretty traumatic and daunting task for us as a department. It’s not going to be easy and it’s not going to happen tomorrow, but in the end, I think we will move on from this.”
The news conference was attended by most members of the Oakland City Council as well as the former mayor, Jerry Brown, who is now the state’s attorney general.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California released a statement Saturday lamenting the deaths. “This is a tragic day for law enforcement officers everywhere,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said. “All four officers dedicated their lives to public safety and selflessly worked to protect the people of Oakland.”
A man who works at a barbershop near the site of the traffic stop told The Oakland Tribune that the two officers had wounds to their faces.
“I went over to one officer and saw he was bleeding from his helmet pretty bad,” the witness said. “The other officer was laying motionless.”
Tension between police and the community has escalated since the fatal shooting of an unarmed 22-year-old, Oscar Grant III, by a transit police officer on New Year’s Day.
Mr. Grant was shot at close range while lying face down on a train platform. He was among several people who had been removed from the train by police officers investigating a fight. The former Bay Area Rapid Transit officer accused in the shooting, Johannes Mehserle, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.
Violent protests hit the streets in the weeks after Mr. Grant’s death. On Jan. 7, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters marched through the city breaking store windows and setting cars and trashcans on fire.
Oakland’s black community and law enforcement have had a tense relationship for years, including a corruption case known as the Riders case in which a group of police officers were accused of abusing and falsely accusing suspects. Three of the officers were acquitted, but the case nevertheless damaged the department’s reputation.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that people lingered at the scene of the traffic-stop shooting. About 20 bystanders taunted the police.
Jesse McKinley contributed reporting from Oakland
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4 in total, 3 dead, the other in the ICU( 2 were CNS shots and close range, I beleave the 1st 2)... shooter dead, he was on parole and going back to jail for violating it.
Sadly, this does not shock me one bit. Oakland has some parts that make tijuana look safe.
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Even if California gets even MORE restrictive on firearms, this, unfortunately will not be the last time a violent convict, evidently released too early, gains access to ANY type of firearm.
The sentencing guidelines or grass eating parole board need to be examined for releasing him. Look at that Jerry,....
Even if California became a "gun-free" state, who would still have them?
Prayers and condolences to the LEO's families, it's always very sad when the country loses LEO's in the line of duty.
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Heart-breaking situation which will doubtless be followed by calls for even more draconian gun laws. However, as a convicted felon, the a-hole who shot these cops is ALREADY forbidden to possess a firearm.
However, as is typical in these situations, the reaction of the government will be to punish a large block of the citizenry who didn't do it.
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4th LEO died today.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510037,00.html (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510037,00.html)
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Concealment Versus Cover: Three Oakland police sergeants were shot and killed and a fourth officer was critically wounded Saturday in a pair of related incidents that together rank among the deadliest attacks on law enforcement in California history. A fifth officer, a member of the SWAT team that killed the suspect police held responsible for the shootings, was treated for minor injuries and released… According to law enforcement sources, the SWAT team officers entered an apartment and approached a closet. Suddenly the gunman, hiding in the closet, opened fire through the door, killing two officers and wounding a third. Officers fired back, killing the gunman… (My CWP students are counseled that, while there may be partial cover, there is no partial concealment. Cover blocks bullets. Concealment is a visual concept and may be negated by shadows that project beyond the apparent concealment and by sound that reveals presence. While I usually caution about intruders firing through walls, when they hear a defender on the other side, this different scenario still reinforces the lesson.)
DUH morning mailer-Stephen Wenger
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One of my coworkers retired from the SWAT team there. He left because he didn't want to raise his kids in Oakland.
You just never know who in the car you stop.
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I saw this in this mornings New York Times. # officers killed and one wounded in Oaklan. We can pray for the families. As an asault weapon was used to take out two SWAT guys and Jerry Brown, rabidly anti-gun, is AG out there, folks in California best get ready.
fightingquaker13
"Assault weapons" are already illegal here. But for the rest of the Country, Diane Feinstein has another news story she'll use to rape the rest of your rights.