Slain Oakland Officers Laid to Rest

Just because of my subject of professional interest--the Drug War and criminal justice abuses--I tend to be much more critical of the police on this website than not. I think it is of vital importance that media and policymakers hold law enforcement to account for the abuses of authority that often happen. Absent a check on the police power, a police state will naturally emerge.

This is not to say, however, that I don't respect the men and women who serve as police officers around the country. There are very good officers serving in nearly every precinct in the United States, and often they will be overlooked because they are doing their jobs well. Their names are tarnished every time a fellow officer goes to far in their duties or in their personal lives.

My father is a retired officer and detective from the Fort Wayne Police Department. He was a beat cop for most of his career. He's directed traffic and pulled over motorists, in addition to the murder investigations he conducted as a detective. What happened to the four officers in Oakland could have happened to him at some point in his career. My sympathies go out to the families of the murdered officers.

Ofc. John Hege
Sgt. Mark Dunakin
Sgt. Ervin Romans
Sgt. Daniel Sakai

R.I.P.