Public memorial for slain Oakland police Officer Tuan Le draws hundreds

CASTRO VALLEY — Oakland city leaders including Mayor Sheng Thao, and police from throughout the region, state and nation gathered somberly Wednesday to honor the life of Tuan Le, the Oakland police officer killed Dec. 29 after responding to a burglary at a cannabis business.

Hundreds of people arrived Wednesday morning at the 3Crosses Church on John Drive for the formal memorial service for the fallen officer. It was set to begin at 10 a.m.

Le’s death set off a torrent of grief throughout the Oakland Police Department and an outpouring of solidarity from a community devastated by the shocking attack and beset by an entrenched crime problem.

Le, the first OPD officer to be killed while on duty since 2009, was fatally shot after responding in plainclothes with his partner late at night to the report of a burglary. Four suspects have since been arrested in relation to the burglary, with two of them facing murder charges. The mother of one of the suspects was arrested last week on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime, but she was released earlier this week with no charges yet filed.

The memorial, held privately at the church, was set to include remarks from Le’s uncle, cousin and brother-in-law; state Attorney General Rob Bonta; and Oakland Interim Police Chief Darren Allison. Pastor Emeritus Larry Void was set to preside over the ceremony.

The 36-year-old Le, a native of Vietnam, had obtained his citizenship on Sept. 11, 2001. He joined the OPD four years ago and for the past couple years served as a community resource officer in West Oakland.

As a procession of police vehicles moved toward the church with their sirens blaring, a rainbow could be seen sloped across the pale sky — a sign that the morning gray was giving way to daylight.

Thao and a small cohort of staffers huddled into the building shortly after 8 a.m., the first of a larger number of local leaders expected to be in attendance.

In addition to hundreds of local emergency responders, at least one firefighter who resides in France said he “wanted to come pay respects,” a police spokesperson told reporters outside the church.

Le’s life had previously been honored at a Buddhist ceremony last week at the city’s Pacific Renaissance Plaza, while the lobby of the police administration building in downtown Oakland now features a photo of the fallen officer adorned with flowers. His family held a private funeral ceremony for him on Tuesday.

The burglary leading to Le’s death rounded out a year in which Oakland was plagued by commercial thefts, robberies and break-ins — part of an enduring rise in crime that hasn’t come down even after the pandemic.

This is a deveoping report. Please check back for updates.