Fourth officer declared brain dead

Motorcycle Officer John Hege, who was critically injured in a shootout Saturday with a parolee, was pronounced brain dead this morning. Three police sergeants shot in the gunbattles died immediately, and a fifth officer received a graze wound to his skull and a bullet wound to his shoulder, police said. Hege, 41, of Concord, was pronounced brain dead at 11:25 this morning at Highland Hospital, police spokesman Jeff Thomason said. He is still on life support until the finial decision can be made on organ donation. The three police sergeants who died were Sgt. Erv Romans, 43; Mark Dunakin, 40; and Sgt. Dan Sakai, 35. A fifth officer was treated and release for his wounds. Lovelle Mixon, 26, who was wanted Today, several of Hege's fellow officers parked a pair of patrol cars outside

his parents' home in Piedmont, standing guard to keep the family's grief safe and private.Hege had served for about eight years as a high school basketball coach and referee before enrolling a police academy, friends recalled."He was one of those guys you meet that you don't forget," said Bill Michels, who said he'd worked alongside Hege in the East Bay Basketball Officials Association (EBBOA). "He makes an impression on you. ... He was a good partner, a team player and great guy to work with."meeting a young Hege fresh out of high school when he signed up to referee for high school football and basketball games."He had a very big heart. It was so important to him that he be fair to both teams," Mapp said. "He did that for almost eight years, until just before he went full-time into the police academy. At the time he did that mainly because he wanted to make some money, have a good-paying job."The mood was somber Sunday morning in front of Sakai's home in Castro Valley where at least three Oakland Police officers stood guard and a small group of friends and neighbors had gathered. One neighbor on the leafy street said Sakai was "a nice guy" and that neighbors had put up their American flags in a show of support for his family.The wind whipped at the flags in front of the single-family homes along the street.People went in and out of the home and hugged each other on the porch. Eyes were red as police and civilians alike said they would not provide comment out of respect for Sakai's family.Oakland Police Officer L. Pau, who had a black piece of tape across the Oakland Police Department patch on his uniform, said the Sakai family had spoken to the Oakland Police chief, but would not comment further.Dunakin had been with the Oakland Police Department since 1991, serving several years as a homicide investigator. He was married with three children. His wife, Angela Schwab, was a former Alameda County Sheriffs Deputy who was taken captive after responding to a robbery in December, 1998 at an Outback in Dublin. Another deputy was shot to death in that incident.Brad Lawrence, 42, of Georgia, said he was a roommate of Romans in the early 1990s in Hayward. They had kept in touch over the years through e-mail."He was a good guy, a former Marine, a drill sergeant in the Marine Corps. He went to work for the Oakland Housing Authority," Lawrence said."His dream was to work for the Oakland Police Department. I think he graduated number one in his class from the academy."Lawrence said Romans was from Michigan. He was "kind of a country boy at heart. Used to like to go shooting, hunting. Just all around good guy. He was an excellent cop. ... Just a great guy, tactically sound."Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the shootings.on a "No Bail" warrant for violating his parole for assault with a deadly weapon, was shot and killed by SWAT officers.