3 officers dead, suspect killed in Oakland shootouts

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
In one of the deadliest police shootings in California history, three Oakland officers were killed and a fourth gravely wounded in two incidents Saturday that began with a routine traffic stop, police officials said. "It is in these moments that words are extraordinarily inadequate," Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums said. "We come together in shock and grief and sadness and sorrow." The officers who died were Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, Officer Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35. Officer John Hege, 41, was in grave condition at Highland Hospital late Saturday. The suspect, Lovelle Mixon, was also killed in the gunfire. Mixon, 27, was wanted on a no-bail warrant for violating his parole on a conviction of assault with deadly weapon. Oakland Police Department Acting Chief Howard A. Jordan said "everyone is pouring out their hearts," referring to the panel of civic leaders behind him at a news conference Saturday night, including Dellums and California Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former Oakland mayor. Jordan said handling the deaths will be a "traumatic and daunting task" but praised the resilience of his 800-officer department.