H. Res. 290 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

April 1, 2009. 

Whereas, since May 17, 1792, when Deputy Sheriff Isaac 

Smith of the New York City Sheriffs Office was killed, 

more than 18,270 Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers have died in the line of duty; 

Whereas, on Saturday, March 21, 2009, in Oakland, California, Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, 

Sergeant Dan Sakai, and Officer John Hege, all of the 

Oakland Police Department, were killed by gunfire while 

serving in the line of duty; 

Whereas the senseless slaying of Sergeants Dunakin, Romans, and Sakai, and Officer Hege represents the first 

multiple-fatality shooting incident of law enforcement officers in the United States in more than a year, and the 

first time in more than 15 years that 4 law enforcement 

officers were killed by gunfire in the line of duty in a single incident; 

Whereas the killing of Sergeants Dunakin, Romans, and 

Sakai, and Officer Hege represents the deadliest incident 

involving California public safety officers since the infamous ‘‘Newhall Incident’’ occurred nearly 40 years ago in 

Los Angeles County on April 6, 1970, when 4 California 

highway patrolmen were killed in a gun battle with 2 

heavily armed suspects, an incident so traumatic and 
2 

•HRES 290 EH 

shocking to the Nation that it galvanized the movement 

to reform police training procedures, firearms use, and 

arrest techniques; 

Whereas the slaying of Sergeants Dunakin, Romans, and 

Sakai, and Officer Hege serve as a reminder that the 

risks assumed by police officers daily in serving and protecting their communities continue to be enormous, ever 

present, and lethal, even as the number of law enforcement officers killed by gunfire in the United States has 

steadily declined over the last 20 years; 

Whereas the bravery, devotion to duty, and love of community of these fallen heroes has forever earned them a 

place in the hearts and memories of the citizens they willingly risked their lives to protect, an honor that comes 

at enormous cost to the people who knew them best, 

loved them most, and remember them simply as husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and friends; 

Whereas Sergeant Mark Dunakin of Tracy, California, was 

an 18-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department, a 

graduate of Chabot College in Hayward, California, an 

experienced homicide investigator, and according to his 

captain, ‘‘a cop’s cop,’’ who was ‘‘absolutely committed to 

anything that he leads’’ and absolutely devoted to his 

wife Angela and their 3 children; 

Whereas Sergeant Ervin ‘‘Erv’’ Romans of Danville, California, was a 13-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department, one of the most capable members of the Oakland Police SWAT Team, and highly respected for his 

work in the Narcotics Division of the Department, where 

he was responsible for solving several major drug cases; 
3 

•HRES 290 EH 

Whereas Sergeant Daniel Sakai of Castro Valley, California, 

was considered by his peers and supervisors as a rising 

star on the Oakland Police SWAT Team, where he served 

as leader of the entry team and was beloved for his dedication to serving others, as evidenced by his previous 

work as a community service officer at University of California, Berkeley, escorting students around campus at 

night, and his tenure as an English teacher in Japan, but 

most of all by his devotion to his wife Jennifer and their 

young daughter; 

Whereas Officer John Hege of Concord, California, was a 10- 

year veteran of the Oakland Police Department who 

graduated from St. Mary’s College of California, taught 

at Tennyson High School in Hayward, California, loved 

both his dog and umpiring high school baseball games, 

and knew the incredible joy of realizing his cherished 

dream of becoming a motorcycle cop, and who could always be counted on by his colleagues to be one of the 

first to respond to requests for assistance or to cheerfully 

volunteer to help on departmental projects; and 

Whereas in the face of this horrible loss, the people of Oakland, California, have come together and rededicated 

themselves to making Oakland the safe and peaceful community that Sergeants Dunakin, Romans, and Sakai, and 

Officer Hege sacrificed their lives to preserve and defend: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives extends its 

condolences to the families and loved ones of Oakland Police 

Department Sergeant Mark Dunakin, Sergeant Ervin Romans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege and 

stands in solidarity with the people of Oakland, California, 
4 

•HRES 290 EH 

their neighbors in the East Bay, and entire Bay Area community, as they celebrate the lives, and mourn the loss, of 

these 4 remarkable and selfless heroes who represented the 

best of their community and the future the people of Oakland 

are determined to create for their children, grandchildren, 

and generations to come. 

Attest: 

Clerk.