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U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Honors Fallen Oakland Police Officers

by junya
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) honored the four Oakland police officers killed in the line of duty with this Congressional Record statement.
None of Oakland's 124 homicide victims last year has been mentioned by Sen. Boxer, and no statement on the BART police extrajudicial execution of Oscar Grant can be found on the Senator's website, thus raising questions regarding the Senator's calculus of blood value.

But Boxer's statement (as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights[?!], Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues) on Israel's US-funded recent Gaza massacre of over 1300 Palestinians, plus massive injury and destruction, provides a clue:

"The promise of peace in the Middle East will not be realized until attacks against Israel by terrorist organizations stop completely. No country in the world would stand for its citizens being targeted by rockets without taking appropriate action in self defense. It is tragic that this crisis - which was initiated by Hamas - has come to this."
Press Release of Senator Boxer

Boxer Honors Fallen Oakland Police Officers

Monday, March 23, 2009

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today honored the four Oakland police officers killed in the line of duty with the following Congressional Record statement:

Mr. President.

It is with deep sadness that I discuss one of the deadliest attacks against California law enforcement in my state’s history—an attack that took the lives of four Oakland, California police officers, and has left our community reeling from the shock of this terrible and senseless loss.

Every day, our law enforcement officers selflessly and bravely put their lives on the line to protect our families and our communities. If anyone, anywhere, needed a reminder of that, this tragedy puts a spotlight on the risk our police officers face every day.

On Saturday, March 21st, what should have been a routine midday traffic stop for Oakland PD officers Mark Dunakin and John Hege quickly turned into a murder scene.

After fatally wounding both officers, the suspect fled the scene, leading to a frantic manhunt that involved more than 200 officers from Oakland PD, Alameda County Sheriff's Office, BART Police and the California Highway Patrol. The suspect was quickly tracked down to an apartment. But when the SWAT team entered the apartment, he fired a series of shots from inside of a closet, fatally wounding officers Daniel Sakai and Ervin Romans, and injuring a third, before he was shot and killed.

In the days and weeks ahead, we will have important debates about the problems with our justice system that allowed a violent offender to be on the streets in clear violation of his parole. And we will debate the issue of powerful weapons in the hands of dangerous criminals.

As these debates move forward, I will work to give our law enforcement officers more support and more resources to adequately protect our communities and protect themselves.

Now I want to pay tribute to these four fallen officers.

Sgt. Mark Dunakin, age 40, was an 18-year veteran of Oakland PD. He was no stranger to violent crime, having worked homicide cases in the criminal investigation division. But he later transferred to the motorcycle traffic division where his days focused on patrolling our streets on his beloved Harley-Davidson, cracking down on drunk drivers and trying to always enforce our state’s seatbelt laws. Sgt. Dunakin is survived by his wife Angela Schwab and their three children.

Officer John Hege, age 41, had been with the Oakland PD for 10 years and had only recently started his dream assignment of becoming part of the motorcycle traffic division. Respected by his colleagues and well-liked by his neighbors, Officer Hege was often known to lend a helping hand, and even found time to umpire high-school baseball in his free time. After being gunned down this weekend, Officer Hege was declared brain dead. And true to the heroism he exhibited in his life, his organs are being donated to help save other lives. Officer Hege is survived by his father and his beloved dog.

Sgt. Ervin Romans, age 43, had been with the Oakland PD since 1996. As a member of the elite SWAT team, Romans was in charge of entering the most dangerous situations to confront and arrest barricaded suspects. Known as just “Erv” to his friends and colleagues, he was among a group of officers awarded the department’s prestigious Medal of Valor in 1999 for helping to evacuate residents during a fire. His Captain, Ed Tracey said he “had an exterior image of being the tough, rugged guy, but everyone knows he has a soft heart.” Sgt. Romans is survived by his three children.

Sgt. Daniel Sakai, age 35, had recently been named a leader of the entry SWAT team, and was known to all as a rising star. Before joining the SWAT team, Sgt. Sakai worked in the K-9 division, responding to calls with his dog, Doc. He studied forestry at UC Berkeley, where he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He also worked as a community service officer at Berkeley, escorting students around campus at night. He is survived by his wife Jennifer, a UC Berkeley police officer, and their daughter.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends, and colleagues of these fallen officers in this tragic time.

We must come together to support those suffering, and in the coming days we must come together, firmly resolved to end the violence that has for too long eaten away at the fabric of our communities.

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by (a)
those pigs deserved what they got. it's five murderous thugs off the street. we should be celebrating. if you want to praise cruel authoritarian miscreants, take it somewhere the fuck else, because this shit is offensive.
He also warned about crap like this:

"In the days and weeks ahead, we will have important debates about the problems with our justice system that allowed a violent offender to be on the streets in clear violation of his parole. And we will debate the issue of powerful weapons in the hands of dangerous criminals."

He said that just like how politicians and others exploited 9/11 to do things they already wanted to do, there will be those who try to exploit the OPD deaths to pass new laws that unfairly target communities of color. He also said the time to stand up to this is now.


Democrats and preachers have nothing to offer. They are both just con artists. It is obvious that the killing of 5 people in Oakland on 3/21/09 was a setup to postpone the hearing of BART cop Johannes Mesherle, the killer of Oscar Grant. There are no coincidences. Let us always remember that we will never know Mr. Mixon's side of the story as the police murdered the chief witness to his story, completely unneceesarily, and therefore with malice aforethought.

By far the best investigation and comment on the murder of Oscar Grant and the traffic stop of March 21, 2009 in Oakland resulting in the deaths of 5 people is by the People's Tribunal, found at
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/03/23/18580918.php#18580933

My favorite speeches were those by Danny Garcia, Clyde Young and Gene Pepi. The many comments of Larry Everest, who was apparently MC, are also informative and instructive. Garcia's excellent point that it is does not matter that we have a black president, just like it was once a novelty but also did not matter that we had black police, black district attorneys and so forth. It is the private profit system that is rotten and must be replaced. His description of the police murder of his brother are also instructive. Clyde Young describes his searing experiences with the prison system and the utter contempt for human life the police and prison guards have. Gene Pepi describes the racism within the BART system and the horror that is New Year's Eve for BART workers. It is so bad that the union made it a paid holiday so workers could get extra pay; otherwise BART would not be able to provide its 24 hour New Year's Eve service (normally it sshuts down around 1 a.m. and starts again around 4 a.m. on weekdays). All of the trains are overcrowded and the Embarcadero Station in SF is jammed with people traying to get to the East Bay. This is the price we pay for a society that puts guns before butter, making war around the world and at home. He also made an excellent point: OSCAR GRANT WAS A UNION MEMBER, as he was a grocery worker. WHERE ARE THE UNIONS? WE NEED MILLIONS OF UNION MEMBERS MOBILIZED TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY OF OSCAR GRANT in exposing the obvious setup that was the killing of Oscar Grant. The entire BART transit system is now viewed as unsafe from police killings. This obviously cannot be tolerated.
Millions of anybody would.

But the only union I've heard say anything about Oscar was the ILWU. Correct me if I am wrong.

And before you completely cast aside preachers so fast, you should check out that post. They are organizing a recall of Tom Orloff and they castigated the clergy that showed up for the police vigil but have said nothing about Oscar Grant nor offered anything for the family of Lovelle Mixon. Again, correct me if I am wrong, but that's more than any union is doing now.

I haven't heard them demand Muslim or Christian devotion. They are more interested in justice for Oscar Grant.

by dave id
Those interested in tribunals, should also check out the one BAMN held, as it got a little deeper into the legal issues around the Mehserle case.

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/03/06/18575244.php

The Revolution Club tribunal was good in that such a broad array of family members victimized were present to firmly establish the case that issues with police are much larger than Oscar Grant.
by junya
Barbara Lee, Renegade from Peace and Justice, Honors Oakland's "Fallen Heroes"
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/03/29/18584361.php
by $
Only labor can end this bankrupt social order as only labor can organize a general strike to end the private profit system, the cause of all this police brutality and the case of war. Police terror exists to maximize profits by making labor organizing difficult. The hustling on the part of religious-superstitious parasites is to gain parishoners so as to pay for the existence of the religious-sueprsititious parasites. As to getting rid of district attorney Orloff, you cannot be serious. You must have no idea who votes or why. You can circulate the petition and see how far you get. When you are dealing with voters, you are dealing mostly with people who are least likely to have problems with the police. The moniker for district attorney is "sending poor people to jail," so even running someone against Orloff in the next election can only be a protest. The district attorney's office and the police are one gang, by definition. Both Barbara Lee and Barbara Boxer belong to the same rotten Democratic Party, the twin party of war and fascism of the Republican Party. When you circulate your petitions to recall Orloff, be sure to circulate voter registration forms so everyone can change their registration to Peace & Freedom or Green Party. The voters in the black community are overwhelmingly Democrat, and that needs to change too. And when you complain about turnout to any event, whether it be peace marches or shutting down BART stations to protest the murder of Oscar Grant, you should ask, where is the black community, the most adversely affected by war and police brutality? You should not have to depend on readers of this website for attending any such events.
by luci
"Police terror exists to maximize profits by making labor organizing difficult."

Uh, cops tend to have notoriously powerful unions. Please provide analysis of the role of unions of police, prison guards, etc.
by reality check
>>RE: Democrats & Preachers Are Worthless; People's Tribunal Said it All
by $ Sunday Mar 29th, 2009 9:32 AM
... It is obvious that the killing of 5 people in Oakland on 3/21/09 was a setup to postpone the hearing of BART cop Johannes Mesherle, the killer of Oscar Grant. There are no coincidences. Let us always remember that we will never know Mr. Mixon's side of the story as the police murdered the chief witness to his story, completely unneceesarily, and therefore with malice aforethought. <<

$, you need to get a grip. there is no 'chief witness' to your paranoid scenario. mixon was apparently killed after he killed 4 people. What exactly did he witness? A semi-automatic weapon going off accidentally in his hands because he was set up to distract from the Oscar Grant murder? How about he was a violent sociopath who knew he would go back to prison for parole violations and with malice aforethought decided to murder two people instead of going back to prison. The case is open and shut - mixon is not a hero, just more justified in his paranoia than $.
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