An Oakland police officer working undercover was shot and killed Friday morning during an attempt to stop a burglary of a cannabis business.
Oakland’s interim Police Chief Darren Allison said at a press conference today that the shooting happened during an overnight burglary suppression operation. At 1 a.m., multiple officers responded to a reported burglary in progress at a cannabis business on the 400 block of Embarcadero. The officers didn’t find anyone breaking into a building and left after conducting a preliminary investigation.
“A few hours later, at about 4:33 in the morning, officers received another report of a burglary in progress at the same business,” said Allison.
Uniformed and undercover officers went to the scene and spotted several people leaving the area of the alleged break-in.
“During the response, at least one individual discharged a firearm multiple times, striking a plainclothes officer who was driving an unmarked vehicle,” Allison said.
Other details about the shooting were shared over OPD radio communications reviewed by The Oaklandside. Several sources with knowledge of the incident also shared information.
The undercover officer who was shot, identified by OPD as Tuan Le, crashed the vehicle he was driving. A second undercover officer who was also in the vehicle was injured during the collision. According to police radio, the shots came from someone who was in, or got into another car and sped away on I-880.
Officer Le was unconscious when backup arrived. Patrol officers rushed Le to Highland Hospital where he died.
In a social media post this afternoon, OPD said Le joined the department in 2020 after graduating from the 183 academy. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he moved to the United States and became a citizen in 2001. He worked previously as a community resource officer in West Oakland. “His tireless efforts in fostering positive relationships made a lasting impact,” OPD wrote.
The other undercover officer, who has not been identified, was treated by emergency responders for injuries related to the crash.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, one officer at the crime scene reported over the radio finding spent bullet shell casings. Police closed off Embarcadero to investigate and there was a major police presence in the area for several hours. Numerous officers were also at Highland Hospital this morning.
OPD has not made any arrests. Allison said OPD has “actionable evidence” it will be using to identify suspects and that other state and federal law enforcement agencies are helping.
Mayor Sheng Thao was visibly shaken at today’s press conference. “I’m asking Oaklanders to stand with the OPD family and the family of our fallen officer,” she said. “Many of our officers are hurting right now and they’re going to need our support. Our community is in shock.”
Thao called the shooting a senseless murder and pledged that OPD would identify and arrest the persons responsible.
Burglaries and robberies of cannabis businesses have been a growing problem in Oakland for several years. Burglars often operate in teams, breaking into dispensaries and grow operations to take cash and products. There have been shoot-outs between suspects and private security, and in 2020 an OPD officer shot and killed a man suspected of taking part in a cannabis burglary who fled in a car and struck a police officer.
Friday’s shooting is the first fatality for an OPD officer in the line of duty since March 2009 when Lovelle Mixon killed two traffic officers and then killed two other officers during a SWAT team raid as the department was attempting to take him into custody.
Fifty-four Oakland police officers have been killed in the line of duty since 1867.
There have been at least 125 homicides in Oakland this year, including the officer who was killed today. Burglaries and robberies have also increased this year compared to the previous three years, according to OPD reports.
