On March 21, 2009, Sergeant Daniel Takashi Sakai, 35, of the Oakland Police Department was killed during a confrontation with a suspect in Oakland, California. Earlier that day the same suspect, Lovelle Mixon, had shot and killed Sergeant Mark Dunakin and mortally wounded Officer John Hege during a traffic stop. A subsequent manhunt located Mixon in an apartment building on 74th Avenue.

Sgt. Sakai was part of the SWAT team sent to apprehend Mixon. As officers approached Mixon’s location he opened fire from behind a closet door with a rifle, killing Sergeants Sakai and Ervin Romans and wounding another officer; officers returned fire and killed Mixon. Mixon was later reported to have an extensive violent criminal history and was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon at the time.

Sgt. Sakai had served nine years with the department and left behind his wife, a UC Berkeley police officer, their young daughter, and his parents. Does anyone have memories of Sgt. Sakai or information about that day that could shed more light on the incident?