A Dark Day

The last time this happened in California was in 1970, the year that I was born. Four California Highway Patrol officers were gunned down in a four and half minute gun battle during a traffic stop. Almost 40 years later, four more police officers lost their lives in similar fashion, this time in Oakland.
I had heard on the radio late Saturday afternoon that four O.P.D. officers had been shot in a traffic stop gone bad. I remember thinking that it was an unusually high number and maybe in fact the report was in error. After looking online I found a story to confirm that number and was now saying that all four officers had died. After a conversation with my editor, I made my way to the scene – 5 hours after the first shots had been fired.

The scene was complicated, as was the information. The Oakland Tribune had first reported that all four of the officers had died. Early in the evening, that story was corrected to only three with another clinging to life. I arrived at the scene of the crime just before the sun went down. Investigators were gathering evidence at the scene, marking shell casings with numbered cards. Some officers just stood there motionless, still processing what had just happened.
After the sun went down, I headed over to the hospital where the officers had been taken. I had seen from earlier in the evening where family members and police officers grieved outside of the emergency room, but now it was quite. A few officers lingered along with members of the local clergy. A steady rain fell as I sat in my car watching as the men chatting when they formed a circle, held hands and prayed. It was a nice moment.
The O.P.D. held a press conference later in the evening to outline the events of the day. The mayor and top police brass fought back emotion as they described the shooting. Interim police Chief Howard Jordan paused a few times as he answered questions, doing his best to maintain his composure.
Confusion continued on Sunday when local media reported that the fourth officer had died but had actually only been declared brain dead. News of the fourth death prompted people to send in donations and drop off flowers at the police headquarters. By 3 in the afternoon, dozens of bouquets flanked the side entrance. Makeshift memorials also came to life at the scene of the shootings. A man set up flags in honor of the slain officers. Another woman and her daughter arranged candles and a poem near the doorway of the apartment where two of the officers and the suspect were killed as a crime scene unit continued to collect evidence.
A public vigil brought out hundreds of people just three days after the killings. People from all walks of life attended the early evening event. Many were brought to tears as city leaders led prayers and remembered the fallen officers. The makeshift memorials were now four times bigger than the day before and people continued to bring flowers.
Just down the street from where the vigil was being held, a smaller memorial had been erected in memory of Lovelle Mixon, the man who shot and killed the four officers. Mixon, a convicted felon and fugitive parolee, was also a suspect of interest in an unsolved murder case and his DNA had matched sperm samples from twelve year-old rape victim. He was also a suspect in several other rape cases, including one that involved an elderly woman. In handwritten messages alongside photos of Mixon, people praised him for killing the officers. He was viewed as a martyr. Knowing the history of this man, it was one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen.