Racial harmony? Not quite!

Attorney General Eric Holder got what he wanted this week in Oakland, Calif.: black and non-black people talking about race.

In mid-February, he called us “a nation of cowards,” unwilling to discuss race issues.

Well, race issues dominated Bay Area media since March 21, but I doubt the rhetoric that surfaced – and is still being heard on talk radio and news even as I write this – was what Holder had in mind.

He talked kumbaya about dialogue and discussion. What he got was ugly, semi-violent, vindictive, and dangerous – exposing the underbelly of an ugly aspect of race relations, unfortunately held by many blacks: They don’t like cops, and they especially don’t like non-black cops.

I also doubt the reason for the race talk was what Holder had in mind: It was the vicious, deliberate slaughter of four Oakland police officers by a career criminal, on parole, with a warrant for missing three meetings with his parole officer and, who was in possession of a gun.

This was a bad, bad man who did even worse because he was more than willing to use that weapon, and then another one, to deliberately kill police.

At the end of the violent melee, he wound up dead. He was no loss to society.

Unfortunately, before that, he viciously ended the lives of four officers and injured another – all, dedicated and courageous policemen who were friends, sons, brothers, husbands and fathers.

These mindless killings exacted a huge price from society and their families. Seven children lost their daddies.

It started with a “routine traffic stop,” one of the most dangerous situations any officer faces.

This was the worst.

The first motorcycle officer stopped the vehicle and ran a check. Apparently something was suspicious. He called for backup, and a second motorcycle officer arrived. They were both behind the car. Suddenly, the driver jumped out and shot both with a handgun.

As they lay bleeding, he went to each and shot again, execution style. Then, he took off on foot.

Officer John Hege, 41, was left brain dead, and kept on life support at Highland Hospital to preserve his organs for donation, which ultimately saved four lives.

Sgt. Mark Dunakin died on the scene.

Passersby rendered aid, called 9-1-1 and police mobilized. There was a massive, nearly two-hour search and then a tip led to a nearby apartment house.

Because of the building design, an evacuation was neither safe nor possible. The SWAT team readied for entry then got in to where the killer was holed up. It was his sisters’ apartment.

It was dark inside and little did police know what awaited them – a full, frontal, surprise assault from inside a closed closet by the fugitive, who this time used a still unidentified, high-powered weapon. He fired more than 40 rounds through the door and drywall.

SWAT team members, Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35, were killed, probably not knowing what hit them.

Sgt. Pat Gonzales took a shot through the shoulder; his helmet saved him from a head wound. He was treated at the hospital and released.

It ended with police returning fire, killing the suspect.

There was a public funeral in Oakland on the 27th at the Oracle Arena, attended by thousands of citizens, thousands of police officers from across California and indeed, from all 50 states and several foreign countries, plus a gaggle of politicians from every level of government.

All those family members and comrades in blue and friends and neighbors are left with sorrow and tears and memories and, no doubt, anger.

There were remembrances and speeches at the funeral from family members and politicians, but one pol, said not a word: the mayor of Oakland, Ron Dellums. There was a specific request from at least two of the victim’s families that he not speak.

The black mayor of a predominantly black city, plagued with crime, a shortage of police and budget issues, clearly has some problems.

But so do many Oakland residents. Even before the crime situation was resolved, people gathered on street corners and derided police, cheering the criminal fugitive and the police deaths, calling them retribution for alleged “racist” police work.

For them, it’s clear race division and “whitey” is the bad guy. There were efforts during the week for rallies and demonstrations. The killer, 26-year-old Lovelle Mixon, was cheered as a hero. The rhetoric was hateful and divisive.

Many talk show callers spilled their anger, dragging out the usual cliches about slavery, discrimination, profiling and O.J. Simpson.

Too many, clearly, never will never change their conclusions that black is good and white is bad. Everything was responsible for the criminal activity except Mixon and his broken family. There were diatribes about not enough “understanding” for the criminal but almost nothing about the crimes, which got Mixon jailed in the first place

It didn’t help that the headline in the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday, the 23rd, was “Parolee wanted to avoid prison.”

How nice of the Chron to give Mixon a “motive” and provide “understanding” for his actions. He wasn’t “bad, just upset.”

Days later, it was revealed police just received a DNA match of Mixon with the rape last month of a 12-year-old Oakland girl. He hadn’t yet been charged or even knew about the possibilty

Not all black Oakland residents are anti-cop. One woman, speaking for many, commented for a news camera: “These guys come here to keep us safe – and look what we do to ’em.”

We all “looked” on Friday.

But we don’t hear enough from them, and we also haven’t heard from our first black attorney general – the man who wants a “dialogue” on race.

Eric Holder – where are you?

 

---