Logging Tapes Released in Murder of 4 Officers

The Oakland (Calif.) Police Department has released logging recorder tapes that document the shooting deaths of four officers last year by a rape suspect, along with a report by outside experts that documented dozens of errors and mistakes that contributed to the deaths. A motorcycle officer stopped the suspect for a traffic violation, and was joined by second motor officer. The suspect apparently gave a phony name, and when both officers approached the driver’s door to speak to him, they were fatally shot several times. The suspect escaped and fled to a nearby apartment. Informants gave police the suspect’s location, and when an entry team of non-SWAT officers entered, they were met with semi-auto gunfire, killing two more officers. According to a panel of law enforcement experts, officers and commanders failed to follow several policies and procedures, which put the officers in unnecessary peril. The three logging tape segments document the initial response to the carstop shoot-out, the radio traffic of the search for the suspect, and then the entry and shooting at the apartment scene. Download (pdf) the consultants’ report here, and listen (mp3) to the tapes:

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