San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Vigil honors slain Oakland police officer
Incense smoke drifted into the air at Oakland’s Pacific Renaissance Plaza on Friday as three Buddhist nuns chanted prayers during a traditional Buddhist ceremony Friday honoring Oakland police officer Tuan Le, who was shot and killed in the line of duty a week ago.
Several community leaders remembered Le for his smile and ability to build bridges between the Oakland Police Department and residents and business owners of Asian descent.
The ceremony took place in a vacant suite at the plaza in the heart of Chinatown, where attendees chanted Buddhist prayers. A large photo of Le, in his police uniform, was placed in the corner of the room.
Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said Le’s family is Buddhist.
Le was born in Vietnam and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2001.
The 36-year-old officer was shot about 4:30 a.m. Friday after he and other officers responded to a reported burglary at a cannabis business on Embarcadero near Fifth Avenue. As the suspects took off, at least one of them fired at an unmarked police vehicle and struck Le in the driver’s seat, police said.
For many community members of Asian descent, the tragedy felt like losing a family member, Chan said Friday.
Many of them are afraid of police or don’t trust them, Chan said, but Le understood Asian cultures and spoke Vietnamese and a little bit of Chinese.
“He was able to bridge the gap,” Chan said.
Jennifer Tran, president of the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, described Le as an exemplary public servant.
Tran said Le “continued to show up for our communities and businesses.”
Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam said she met Le at various community events in the city’s Chinatown and Little Saigon
“When they say goodbye, they know it could be goodbye forever.”
Carl Chan, Chinatown Chamber of Commerce
neighborhoods. Tam said Le was proud to be a police officer and protect the community. She, too, said Le was instrumental in bridging the divide between police and the community.
Oakland Council Member Noel Gallo said Le attended Oakland High School at the same time as his three daughters.
“We’re going to miss you,” Gallo said from the front of the room.
He added that Oakland needs “to get our act together” to make streets safer.
Two men were charged this week with murder and other charges in connection with the shooting death of Le. A third man was charged with seconddegree burglary in connection with the incident.
Father Jayson Landeza, an Oakland police chaplain, Chan and others praised Le for putting his life on the line to protect the city.
“Unfortunately for the men and women in uniform, when they say goodbye, they know it could be goodbye forever,” Chan said.
Among the attendees were Oakland police officers and volunteers known as Blue Angels, a group that patrols the city’s Chinatown.
As attendees chanted the Buddhist prayers, a woman in the room wiped away tears. At the end of the ceremony community members bowed while they faced the photo of Le.