Tributes To The Slain Oakland PD Officers

Mei Maffei leaves a bouquet of flowers to the growing memorial at the front entrance of the Oakland police department to four Oakland police officers that died in the line of duty Sunday, Mar. 22, 2009 in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/ Tony Avelar)

The above is good to see especially after the reports of taunts at the scene of the shootings.

Here is a report about the officers themselves:

Dunakin is survived by his wife of 16 years and their three children, two boys ages 15 and 8, and a 13-year-old daughter, said Maxine Schwab, Dunakin’s mother-in-law.

“He was smart, and he was so good with people, very warm and affectionate,” said Schwab. “If you met him, you’d be charmed by him.”

Schwarzenegger’s office said that like Dunakin, Romans, who lived in Danville, left behind a wife and three children.

Friends who knew Sakai from his days at the University of California at Berkeley and his continued involvement in his college fraternity said he was married to a campus police officer and was the father of a young daughter. He and his family lived in Castro Valley.

Oren Levy, a fraternity brother of Sakai, said his friend grew up in Big Bear and was an accomplished mountain biker and outdoorsman who majored in forestry and graduated in 1995.

As an undergraduate at Berkeley, Sakai worked for the campus police department as a student volunteer. After graduation, Sakai spent a year in Japan teaching English.

“His honor was extremely important to him. Whenever there was a situation where someone could take the path that was less honorable, he always advocated doing the right thing,” Levy said. “Being a police officer was really perfect for him.”

Hege’s father said his son, who lived in Concord, loved being a policeman. He worked well with people and was an Eagle Scout. He played high school football and wrestled. He umpired and coached even as a youth, and joined the Oakland Police Department reserves.

He taught high school physical education for a few years in Hayward before joining the police department a decade ago. He recently became a motorcycle traffic patrol officer, Hege said, adding, “He liked excitement.”

And the manager of the White Sox paid tribute: (h/t Cop The Truth)

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen paid tribute to the four Oakland police officers shot during a Saturday traffic stop with an “O.P.D.” written on his uniform cap for Sunday’s Cactus League game at the Spring Training home for the A’s.

“It’s sad when people are working for this country, trying to make it better, and some idiot out there doesn’t realize the job they’re doing for any reason you do it. There’s no reason to do it,” Guillen said. “There’s no reason to take people’s lives when you got kids and you’re working and you’re working to make a living. It should be a hard day for the Bay Area.”

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“I’ve never seen anything sadder than a police funeral,” Guillen said. “You don’t want to take anyone’s life, especially when it’s a policeman or fireman, or you’re in the Army and [they] take your life away, because you’re protecting this country. And people have to look themselves in the mirror and think about it, how important they are for us.

“We only worry about police when they’re killed. We don’t give them enough credit for making our lives easier. It’s a sad thing when you’re in the United States of America, and you see that over and over, and it should be a sad day, not just for the Bay Area, but everyone in the United States. You don’t want to see it happen.”

Thank you Ozzie!

Curt

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