Oakland mourns

A long blue line of police officers, backed by a grieving city, gather to say goodbye to four cops who died doing their jobs.

The four officers' murders stunned and saddened the broad Bay Area community, but there had been a few discordant notes. There's long been tension between the Oakland Police and the city's low-income black community, as in most other big cities. It was inflamed most recently by the New Year's Day killing of unarmed Oakland resident Oscar Grant, who was shot by BART police, not Oakland cops. Despite this tense background, most Oakland residents of every ... Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala
Tags Help
Subjects: World, U.S., Extra
Member Tags: black:dupe
Editorial Help
Posted by: Posted by Kaizar Campwala - Mar 28, 2009 - 12:44 AM PDT
Content Type: Article
Edit Lock: This story can be edited
Edited by: Kaizar Campwala - Mar 28, 2009 - 12:44 AM PDT

Reviews

Show All | Notes | Comments | Quotes | Links
Fabrice Florin
3.9
by Fabrice Florin - Apr. 1, 2009

Insightful article about the funeral for four Oakland police officers, who were killed doing their job last week. The author provides a factual account of this moving event, and adds his own perspective on what we as citizens can do to solve some of the problems that caused this tragedy. Thoughtful and compelling argument for social change, which transcends this local drama into a civic call to action in all of our lives.

See Full Review » (11 answers)
Walter Cox
4.3
by Walter Cox - Apr. 1, 2009

True excellence in journalism is when the reporter takes you to places you otherwise would not be able to visit, when you are able, through the reporter's efforts, to understand something that otherwise would have remained hidden. This story is so close to me that I cried reading it, but even if it were not close I think I would have done that anyway. I was at the Oracle yesterday, and this article tells it like it was.

My son has been with the Oakland Police Department for three years. He knew Mark Dunakin and was only about a block away when Mark and John Hege were gunned down. On the scene within minutes, he would have joined SWAT Sgt. Danny Sakai when the SWAT team headed off to apprehend Lovelle Mixon. Yet SWAT Sgt. Ervin Romans arrived at the last minute, and Ervin said, "I think we have enough bodies." A few minutes later, Mixon murdered both of these men. This has been a rough week ... More »

See Full Review » (12 answers)
Kaizar Campwala
4.4
by Kaizar Campwala - Mar. 28, 2009
See Full Review » (10 answers)

Comments on this story Help (BETA)

NT Rating | My Rating

Ratings

4.1

Good
from 3 reviews (30% confidence)
Quality
4.2
Information
4.3
Insight
4.7
Style
4.3
Context
4.0
Enterprise
3.7
Expertise
3.0
Originality
3.7
Relevance
4.7
Popularity
4.0
Recommendation
4.7
Credibility
3.7
# Reviews
1.5
# Views
5.0
# Likes
1.0
# Emails
1.0
More
How our ratings work »
(See these related stories.)

Links Help

No links yet. Please review this story to add some!