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 enforce-
ment officers have died in the line of duty; 
Whereas, on Saturday, March 21, 2009, in Oakland, Cali-
fornia, 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, Ro-
mans, and Sakai, and Officer Hege represents the first 
multiple-fatality shooting incident of law enforcement of-
ficers 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 sin-
gle incident; 
Whereas the killing of Sergeants Dunakin, Romans, and 
Sakai, and Officer Hege represents the deadliest incident 
involving California public safety officers since the infa-
mous ‘‘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
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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 pro-
tecting their communities continue to be enormous, ever 
present, and lethal, even as the number of law enforce-
ment 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 commu-
nity of these fallen heroes has forever earned them a 
place in the hearts and memories of the citizens they will-
ingly 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 hus-
bands, 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, Cali-
fornia, was a 13-year veteran of the Oakland Police De-
partment, one of the most capable members of the Oak-
land 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;
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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 dedi-
cation to serving others, as evidenced by his previous 
work as a community service officer at University of Cali-
fornia, 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 al-
ways 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 Oak-
land, California, have come together and rededicated 
themselves to making Oakland the safe and peaceful com-
munity 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 Ro-
mans, Sergeant Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege and 
stands in solidarity with the people of Oakland, California,
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their neighbors in the East Bay, and entire Bay Area com-
munity, 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.