By David DeBolt
Contra Costa Times
OAKLAND, Calif. — A highway sign dedicated to four Oakland police officers killed in 2009 was ripped from its post on Interstate 580 and tagged with a red “X,” a police captain said Friday.
Authorities noticed the vandalism at about 3:30 p.m. on eastbound 580 near Keller Avenue, Oakland police Captain Ersie Joyner III said.
It appears the vandal or vandals used tools to remove the sign and red paint to cover the names of Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Sgt. Ervin Romans, Sgt. Daniel Sakai and Officer John Hege, who were shot and killed by Lovelle Mixon March 21, 2009.
The Keller Avenue bridge was named in their memory in 2012. A sign on the westbound side of the freeway was not damaged.
“It cuts deep to see something like that happen and these four officers’ memories defaced and disgraced,” Joyner said. “These guys made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Mixon, who had an extensive criminal history, shot and killed Dunakin and Hege without warning during a traffic stop, then fled the scene. Romans and Sakai were killed during a SWAT operation to apprehend Mixon a few hours later.
Police are investigating the vandalism case but have no suspects, and said they are not sure exactly when the sign was vandalized.
Anyone who may have witnessed the vandalism is asked to call the Oakland police tip line at 510-773-2805 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211.
The incident comes after several weeks of unrest in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco, where protesters have marched peacefully and, at times, clashed with police while decrying the police killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri and New York, and separate grand jury decisions not to indict the officers.
“This is a true testament that we need to do some hard work on repairing relationships with the community,” Joyner said. “We need to come together. I know a lot of people find it hard to believe, but believe me, we want the same things for this city.”
Copyright 2014 the Contra Costa Times