As the city of Oakland honored the four slain police officers killed in March, citizens spoke out against the violence against black youth in their city.

During a city council meeting on March 31, Oakland residents expressed their grief toward the death of Lovelle Mixon, who killed Sgts. Mark Dunakin, Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege. They did so after the board unanimously voted to formally honor the slain police officers.

Citizens were adamant in pointing out that the deaths of these four officers and Mixon were part of a much larger issue.

Paulette Hogan, a Democratic candidate for mayor, said that she was angry about what she noted as the problem of black youth dying in Oakland. She called for more city programs to keep kids off the street, and said that the system had failed.

Other citizens were convinced that if some sort of change didn’t come to Oakland, more deaths would follow.

Kevin Thomas, however, stated that people need to stop blaming the system for their problems and be accountable for their actions. He condemned what he called the “excusatory rhetoric” he said has been used in the past to discuss these issues.

Some commentators were concerned over the issue of race in this matter, and were worried that this will escalate Oakland’s racial tensions, since Mixon was black and all of the officers killed were non-black. They said they had to come up with a solution to bring the community together.

These remarks follow a protest held on MacArthur Boulevard the previous Wednesday, where about 60 demonstrators marched against the police, asking for sympathy for Mixon.

The council presented members of the Oakland Police Department with eight condolence books that were filled by members of the community throughout the week, as well as letters to the families of the fallen officers.

Council members also spoke in memorial of the officers, and recognized the work of the current Oakland Police Department.

“I would take a bullet for any of you guys,” said Councilmember Laurence Reid. “No matter what.”

The Oakland police noted that this was a time for healing. They said that they must work together with the residents to come up with ideas to benefit the city as a whole. They called for a “shared vision of public safety.”

The four officers were killed on March 21 after what started out to be a routine traffic stop on MacArthur Boulevard. Mixon, 26, shot Dunakin and Hege, and then was seen fleeing the scene. Two hours later in a shoot out on 74th Avenue, he was reported to have killed Romans and Sakai before being felled himself by police.

A public funeral was held for the officers on March 27 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, in which nearly 20,000 people attended to mourn their deaths. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and Attorney General Jerry Brown all spoke during the funeral. -30-