Families and officers are grieving the loss of some of the best men this nation has ever produced. Four officers are dead because of the unnecessary national game of Russian Roulette this country plays. That game is called parole.
Thousands of victims are brutalized, raped, and killed by “should-a-been” criminals. What is a “should-a-been” criminal? It is a criminal, who “should-a-been” in prison if not for a fatally flawed system called parole.
Spin the cylinder
Lovelle Mixon is a prime example of that flawed system. He was placed in prison for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on parole, put back in prison for parole violation, and then released again. Once again, he violated his parole and was wanted on a no-bail warrant for parole violation. He was stopped in East Oakland at 1:08 PM on Saturday, March 21, 2009 by motorcycle officers Sgt. Mark Dunakin and Officer John Hege.
The advocates of early release of dangerous criminals and parole boards all over the country release the Mixon’s of this nation. It almost as if they load the round into the cylinder, spin it and then hand the weapon over to their communities. Every cop that makes a traffic stop hopes they are not walking up on a live cylinder as these officers did.
Every young lady that leaves a mall at closing time hopes the foot steps behind them does not belong to one of those live rounds. Dru Sjodin was not so lucky. The footsteps belonged to a sexual predator who was a “should-a-been.” Yes, he “should-a-been in prison and it never-would-a-happened.”
Every Seven Eleven clerk hopes that the man at his counter with his hands in his pockets is not one of those live cylinders. Jayssal Indiv, who was working late for his nephew, was killed by a “should-a-been.” The man “should-a-been in prison—it never-would-a-happened.”
When a Police Officer falls
Sgt. Dunakin obtained a driver’s license from Mixon and was at a disadvantage. Until he could transmit the information over the radio, Mixon was in law enforcement terms a cooperative “yes” person. The Sgt. would never make the transmission. Mixon burst out of his vehicle shooting with a semi-automatic handgun and gunned down Sgt. Mark Dunakin and Officer John Hegge. He then fled with their life blood spilling out on the pavement next to the motorcycles on which they both loved to patrol.
When a police officer falls and a parole board member is not there to hear it does it make a sound? They need to hear us on this one.
Tragedy continues
The Oakland Police Department SWAT Team secured Mixon’s sister’s apartment after learning he was there. Here is why police officers will always be heroes. Nothing will ever happen to diminish that.
The team made entry to the apartment, knowing he was there. They used all tools at their disposal, protective equipment, shields, flash bangs and Mixon opened fire with an AK47, shooting through the walls of the closet that he was hiding in. The SWAT Team engaged him and killed Mixon, but not before two members of the entry team, Sgt. Daniel Sakai and Ervin Romans would heroically and tragically fall in the barrage, never to rise again in this world.
Time for a societal debrief
This is a good time for every state legislature in the country to look at what happened in East Oakland and enact legislation ending the failed, archaic, and dangerous practice granting parole to dangerous offenders—the offenders who have brutalized, raped, and killed. Demand that they serve their full sentences and watch crime rates plummet.
Name the bill after these fallen officers.
Why should our citizens be subjected further to a sociological experiment, which has been proven to be a death sentences to so many of the innocent and the brave, because someone “should-a-been” in prison and it “never would-a-happened.”
Remember the fallen
Now it is time to bow our heads and say a silent prayer for those who knew that this could happen and strapped on their duty belts everyday: Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Sgt. Daniel Sakai, Ofcr. John Hege, and Sgt. Ervin Romans. God bless them and bring them peace.
They wore their uniform with pride and in that uniform they died.
