Going Out In a Blaze of Infamy

I lived in the DC area back when it was the "murder capital of the world." Oakland doesn't strike me as being more violent than DC, but nothing like this ever happened: 4 Oakland Police officers filled by single gunman.

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.

The fourth officer has since died.

Officer John Hege always wanted to be a motorcycle cop, and in the last
few months he got his wish. Hege, 41, joined the Oakland Police Department
10 years ago after a stint as a reserve officer. He graduated from St.
Mary's College in Moraga and had taught physical education and oversaw study
hall at Tennyson High School in Hayward.

Sgt. Mark Dunakin knew he was needed in Oakland and would never have chosen to be an officer anywhere else. Dunakin, 40, lived in Tracy and was an Oakland cop for 18 years. The father of three was a graduate of Chabot College in Hayward. He was
promoted to sergeant in 1999 and worked homicide cases in the criminal investigation division

Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, of Danville was a member of the SWAT entry team, busting
down doors to arrest barricaded suspects. It was during just
such an operation Saturday in which Romans was shot to death in an East Oakland
apartment.

Sgt. Daniel Sakai was a rising star on the Oakland police SWAT team. He loved
nature and studied forestry at UC Berkeley, where he also worked as a community
service officer, escorting students around campus at night. After graduation,
he spent a year in Japan teaching English, said Jim Yu, who was a fellow
community service officer.

Notice that at least 3 of these men were college graduates, and obviously well educated. Frankly, I am not sure Oakland deserved their service or their sacrifice.

It's maybe too obvious to point this out, but when the police shoot someone - even by accident - there is always a rent-a-mob and some college kids ready to "take it into the streets" in protest. But, when a cop (or 4) is shot, the only people around here who care are their colleagues and their families. No one might want to hear this right now, but I think that shows where Oakland's priorities are. They would rather act out a Theater of Rebellion, rather than show respect for guys who put themselves in harms way everyday, and are mostly paid back with complaints from the "community" about racism and brutality. In your dreams! Oakland needs more police "brutality" (meaning arrests), not less.

And here is a perspective I could care less about:

Lovelle Mixon's shocked family, gathering at an East Oakland home where the
parolee had been living until recently, apologized to the officers' families and
to the public, and said they don't understand what might have triggered his
burst of violence.

"He's not a monster," said his sister, 24-year-old Enjoli Mixon, whose apartment on 74th Avenue was where Mixon was slain in a gun battle with police that left two Oakland SWAT officers dead. "I don't want people to think he's a monster. He's just not. He's just not."

Sorry, I'm not persuaded.