EOW (End of Watch)

Today was a beautiful day in the bay area. Clear skies, cool, gentle breeze, flowers in bloom and trees budding. What a great Friday with everybody ready for the weekend.

With the exception for the 18,000 plus Public Safety Professionals... Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, Dispatchers, Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians. In addition to this number, add the countless people from all over the United States and around the world who joined us in their own way to grieve with us.

The Oakland Police Department has suffered a tremendous loss of four highly dedicated men. The Oakland Police Department will persevere and continue to protect the citizens of Oakland. They will go about performing their jobs as we all will. This loss of these four Heroes goes beyond the Oakland Police Department.

The unimaginable loss of a Husband, Father, Brother, Son, Uncle, and Best Friend, how could any of us comprehend the pain which their families and friends must be feeling? This loss extends itself to the citizens of Oakland, to our profession, our society.

Impressive was the sight of the number of Officers, patrol cars, and yes, the motors. The motors parked in neat rows, chrome sparkling in the sunshine, helmets posted on the right mirror, impressive.

Impressive, the distance Police Agencies in cars and motors traveled to honor OPD's finest, the Fire Engines and Ladder Trucks parked on the freeway overpasses rendering their smart salutes as processions of police cars and police motorcycles rumbled on highway 880 toward the Oakland Arena, impressive.

The heart felt words spoken by friends, and colleagues on behalf of the families of the fallen Officers. The heart felt words spoken by Sgt. Sakai's brave sister as she held back her tears were a vivid reminder of how great their loss is, was, and will be.

We are not unlike many people, we have our strengths and faults. We put our pants on one leg at a time. We are ordinary people doing an extraordinary job. We in our profession have what criminals lack. We have integrity, honesty, bravery, compassion, empathy and yes, camaraderie as evident by today's services.

To those who rejoice in our tragedy, when you become a victim of a crime and you dial 911, we, yes we, who you despise will be there in your time of need or in time of need for one of your loved ones.

What was witnessed today is that when good men die, other good men are ready and willing to step up and take their place and resume the good that we do in our profession. We keep society safe from the predators of good, honest, hardworking people.

The fact that Lovelle Mixon deservedly lost his life his for cowardly acts is consoling, it doesn't lessen our sorrow.