Editor’s Note: Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and fellow officers of Oakland (CA) PD Sgt. Daniel Sakai, Sgt. Ervin Romans, Ofcr. John Hege and Sgt. Mark Dunakin, who were shot and killed over the weekend. During our recent conversations with the agency about this incident, we have made them aware of your many comments and we have assured them that officers as far away as Afghanistan are standing with them in support during this difficult time. Anyone who would like to make a contribution to trust funds set up for the families may do so by two methods — wire transfer or by check. Wire transfers may be made directly to the following Merrill Lynch accounts: The Dunakin Children’s Family Trust, Acct. No. 204-04065; The Romans Children’s Family Trust, Acct. No. 204-04066; and The Sakai Family Trust, Acct. No. 204-04064. No fund had been set up as of Monday afternoon on behalf of Hege, who had no children. Individual checks can also be made out to the families and mailed to the Oakland Police Officer’s Association, Attn: Rennee Hassna, 555 5th Street, Oakland, CA, 94607. Make checks payable to the Dunakin Children’s Family Trust; the Romans Children’s Family Trust; Sakai Family Trust.
By Henry K. Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
 Sgt. Mark Dunakin (Handout) |
Mark Dunakin - a cop committed to Oakland
Sgt. Mark Dunakin knew he was needed in Oakland and would never have chosen to be an officer anywhere else.
Dunakin, 40, lived in Tracy and was an Oakland cop for 18 years. The father of three was a graduate of Chabot College in Hayward. He was promoted to sergeant in 1999 and worked homicide cases in the criminal investigation division.
Dunakin was one of the lead investigators of the “Nut Cases” gang, whose members robbed dozens of people and killed five in a random, 10-week crime wave that terrorized the city in 2002 and 2003. Authorities said the young men killed and robbed simply for the thrill.
Dunakin later transferred to the traffic division and became a motorcycle officer, a coveted job in many police departments. He once told a Chronicle reporter that he relished working the streets on his Harley-Davidson.
Dunakin made traffic safety one of his top priorities, whether it was enforcing seat-belt laws as part of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign on Fruitvale Avenue or arresting drivers who got into their cars outside traffic court after judges ordered their licenses suspended.
Dunakin also took part in multi-agency crackdowns on drunken-driving suspects.
In January 2008, Dunakin was thrown from his police motorcycle after being hit by a van in the Oakland hills. He escaped serious injury.
In December 1998, his wife, then-Alameda County sheriff’s Deputy Angela Schwab, was responding to what she thought was a routine 911 hang-up call at the Outback Steakhouse in Dublin. She was taken hostage by three robbers who took her service weapon and held her in the back of the restaurant with 30 employees and customers.
A second deputy responding to the scene, John Monego, was shot and killed. The perpetrators were later captured.
On Saturday, Dunakin was one of two motorcycle officers who were fatally shot after stopping Lovelle Mixon at 74th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard.
“Mark was just a cop’s cop,” said Capt. Ed Tracey. “He’s OPD to the bone. He is absolutely committed to anything that he leads.”
 Officer John Hege (Handout) |
John Hege - always the first to respond
Hege, 41, joined the Oakland Police Department 10 years ago after a stint as a reserve officer. He graduated from St. Mary’s College in Moraga and had taught physical education and oversaw study hall at Tennyson High School in Hayward.
But police work was his true vocation, said his father, John S. Hege of Piedmont.
“I think he was drawn to it,” the elder Hege said. “He wanted to be a policeman. And it was a good life’s work for him. It fit his personality well. He enjoyed it, and he made a lot of good friends in the Police Department.”
He lived with his dog on a small cul-de-sac in Concord. While off-duty, he was a high-school baseball umpire.
His neighbor Rosemary Kelso, 82, recalled Sunday that when Hege moved in about five years ago, he would ride his motorcycle to and from work.
The noise bothered her, so Kelso told her neighbors, “I don’t like motorcycles. I’m going to call the police and tell them about this.” They laughed and told her, “He is the police.”
Once she got to know him, Kelso would chat with Hege as he walked his dog. One day, she left her car lights on, and he knocked on the door to tell her.
“He was that kind of person,” she said. “He was very good to everybody.”
Hege had done a lot of work on his home in the past year, putting in a “beautiful cement walkway and driveway,” Kelso said.
Another neighbor, Erik Scales, said Hege had fixed landscaping in front of his home.
“We’re pretty sad to have lost John,” Scales said.
Several months ago, Hege got the job in the motorcycle division that he wanted. He was always the first to respond on the radio to assist other officers or help on a project, colleagues said.
Saturday afternoon, he was assisting on what appeared to be a routine traffic stop when the two officers were gunned down. He was declared brain dead, but was being kept on a ventilator until his organs can be harvested.
 Sgt. Ervin Romans (Handout) |
Ervin Romans - compassionate SWAT veteran
Sgt. Ervin Romans was one of the most adept members of the Oakland police SWAT team, his colleagues said.
An Oakland officer since 1996, Romans, 43, of Danville was a member of the entry team, busting down doors to arrest barricaded suspects. It was during just such an operation Saturday in which Romans was shot to death in an East Oakland apartment.
Romans kept up with the latest SWAT training techniques, such as attending an 80-hour course in 2007 on “explosive breaching,” or getting into a building as quickly as possible with minimal injury to others.
Erv, as everyone called him, was promoted to sergeant in 2005 and worked narcotics cases, making a number of high-profile drug busts.
In 1999, Romans was among a group of officers awarded the department’s Medal of Valor for helping to evacuate residents during a fire in West Oakland.
Romans had also served on a gun-suppression task force.
He leaves behind three children.
“Romans had an exterior image of being the tough, rugged guy, but everyone knows he has a soft heart,” said Capt. Ed Tracey. “People called him the pirate, because he just had this deep voice and seemed kind of grumpy walking around. But he was just a very compassionate individual.”
San Jose police Sgt. Steve Guggiana said Romans, his former next-door neighbor, always gave his best effort. That was true whether he was protecting Oakland’s streets or spending off-duty time pouring concrete in his backyard or carving pumpkins in his driveway with his kids, Guggiana said.
“Overall, he was just dedicated in what he did,” Guggiana said.
 Sgt. Daniel Sakai (Handout) |
Daniel Sakai - quick learner was a rising star
Sgt. Daniel Sakai was a rising star on the Oakland police SWAT team.
Sakai, 35, of Castro Valley, was recently named a leader of the entry team, colleagues said. SWAT members are assigned to either the entry team, which breaks down doors in search of suspects, or the sniper team, which takes up positions nearby in case police need to open fire.
“He quickly learned his way through the steps of being a good, solid police officer,” said Capt. Ed Tracey. “He was a really good student, and he learned from the best of the best.”
Sakai had just burst into an East Oakland apartment Saturday when he was shot to death.
Before joining the SWAT team, Sakai worked as a K-9 officer, responding to calls with his dog, Doc.
He loved nature and studied forestry at UC Berkeley, where he also worked as a community service officer, escorting students around campus at night.
After graduation, he spent a year in Japan teaching English, said Jim Yu, who was a fellow community service officer.
“He was the person that everyone looked up to and wanted to be,” Yu said. “He had the highest ethics.”
Sakai’s wife, Jennifer, is a UC Berkeley police officer. The couple have a young daughter and enjoyed skiing together, friends said.
Daniel Sakai “was one of the most wonderful people you could meet,” said Amy Empson, 36, of San Diego, who went to high school with him in Big Bear (San Bernardino County).
“Daniel was one of a kind,” she said. “He was sweet, caring, the most intellectual person you could ever meet. He touched all of us.”
Sakai was a Boy Scout, rising to the level of Eagle Scout. None of his friends was surprised to learn that he became a police officer.
“He was a fantastic guy to be around,” said Chad Empson, 36. “He was just warm, inviting, always willing to talk to anybody who wanted to talk to him.”
While at UC Berkeley, Sakai was a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He stayed active in the organization after graduation.
“We were all pretty excited to get someone who was that cool to join our house,” said Paul Schroeder, 38, of San Ramon.
“I always thought he was really brave to be on the Oakland PD,” Schroeder said. “Whenever we saw something on TV that was bad, my wife would say, ‘I hope it’s not Dan.’ ”
Copyright 2009 San Francisco Chronicle