TV crew’s security cop slain
A retired police officer died Saturday, three days after he was shot during an attempted robbery of a San Francisco Bay Area television news crew covering the latest in a rash of smash-andgrab thefts.
Kevin Nishita (inset) was shot in the abdomen during a bid to steal KRON-TV’s camera equipment near downtown Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, police said.
He was employed as an armed guard for Star Protection Agency and provided security for local reporters.
On Wednesday, he was reported to be hospitalized in stable condition, but he succumbed to his wounds days later.
His body was escorted from the hospital “with full law-enforcement honors,” the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.
“We are devastated by the loss of security guard and our friend Kevin Nishita. Our deepest sympathy goes to Kevin’s wife, his children, his family and to all his friends and colleagues,” KRON-TV’s vice president and general manager, Jim Rose, said on Saturday.
Police are offering a reward of $32,500 for information leading to the arrest of Nishita’s killer.
Oakland Police released a photo of the suspect’s vehicle: a white, four-door 2004 to 2008 Acura TL, with a sunroof and no front license plate.
“This senseless loss of life is due to yet another violent criminal act in the Bay Area. We hope that offering a reward will help lead to the arrest of those responsible so they can face justice for this terrible tragedy,” Rose said.
Nishita served in the San Jose Police Department from 2001 to 2012, where he worked as a gang-investigations detective and in the department’s gaming-andvice unit.
He then joined the Colma Police Department, where he served until his retirement in 2018.
There he served as a detective and field-training officer, earning a promotion to sergeant in 2015, the department said.
Violence has surged in Oakland, with Nishita’s death marking the city’s 126th this year due to violence, police said.
The crime is under investigation by the Oakland Police Department’s Homicide Section.