San Leandro police officer slain; suspect not yet in custody
By Sophia Kazmi and Scott Marshall
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A San Leandro police officer was shot and killed late Monday night while responding to a loitering call, and the suspected shooter remained at large this afternoon.
Officer Nels Daniel Niemi, 42 -- known to many by "Dan" -- responded to loitering and loud noise call about 10:50 p.m. in the 14600 block of Doolittle Drive.
Niemi was talking to three people at the scene when two others drove up in a white Ford Thunderbird. When the officer tried to talk to that driver and a passenger, one of the car's occupants pulled out a handgun and shot Niemi several times.
Residents there say the biggest crime problem is usually young drivers turning donuts in the street. So when shots rang out, several neighbors ran out immediately to see what was happening.
One of them, Michael Rosenthal said, "It's absolutely devastating; we didn't expect it to be a cop at all."
Jill Costa was one of a group of neighbors who ran out to see what happened; one went back to grab a cordless phone to call 911 and say, "Officer down, officer down." Costa said she reached for Niemi's neck to find a pulse. "There was nothing," she said.
By mid-morning, only a small scrap of police the police tape on a tree remained as a testament to the shooting. Some neighbors said this afternoon they weren't aware of the shooting, or that the victim was a police officer.
Niemi, a three-year veteran of the force with a wife and two children, was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he died from his wounds. Police this afternoon said Niemi was a former high-tech worker who, when the dot-com bust came, turned to a career in law enforcement.
Witnesses at the shooting scene identified the shooter as 23-year-old Irving "Gotti" Ramirez. Ramirez is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs about 180 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes, with a last known address in Newark. Police searched a home on Wells Avenue in that city this morning, but weren't saying this afternoon what, if anything, they found there, or whether Ramirez still lived there.
Police are calling Ramirez -- who has a number of past misdemeanor cases in Alameda County courts -- armed and extremely dangerous and ask anyone with information his locations to call 510-638-2123 or 911.
Rameriz was arrested by Pleasanton police in December 2004 on felony cocaine and methamphetamine possession. He pled no contest on lesser charge of methamphetamine possession and received 45 days in jail, a $405 fine and three years probation.
The San Leandro officer became the ninth to die in the line of duty this year, according to the California Peace Officers' Memorial at
www.camemorial.org.
Officers and civilian employees alike with agencies that have lost officers feel a particularly gripping grief, and empathy for other departments enduring such a trauma, because they never forget their fallen.
For instance, John Paul Monego's name has become part of the fabric of the Dublin community. Monego was 33 when he was brutally shot to death Dec. 12, 1998, as he responded to a reported robbery at the Outback Steak House.
Monego has since been memorialized by a display at the Dublin Civic Center and by a street named after him. A mile-long stretch of Interstate 680 was named after Monego, whose death was called "the worst day in the history of the city of Dublin."
The Pittsburg Police Departments is coping with the loss of two officers in the past two years. Inspector Ray Giacomelli was shot and killed April 15, 2003, while investigating a homicide.
Larry Lasater, 35, was shot this past April 23 while pursuing two robbery suspects. He died two days later.
Officers statewide feel a deeply personal sense of duty to reach out to a department struggling with such a trauma.
"There's two aspects," said Pittsburg police Lt. Brian Addington. "One is the actual resources that are needed when a tragedy like that happens, the investigation, the manhunt, dealing with the actual funeral," Addington said. "There's invaluable resources that the other agencies tend to contribute ... from a strictly logistical aspect, that's invaluable."
Then there is the emotional response to the trauma -- extremely difficult not only for the organization, but also each officer and the civilian staffers, Addington said.
Even notes and e-mails of support are important, he said. "That personal communication I think means a lot to every single officer in the department," he said. "We're not the agency involved, but we know what it feels like so we want to make sure to send our condolences and offer of service," he said.
"It hurts members of the community, too," Addington said. "The signs that are put up on roadways, the cards that are sent in, the donations to trust funds, they really help us feel like we're wanted and appreciated."
Officers statewide now will adorn their badges with a thin, black stripe, or sash, in silent tribute to the San Leandro officer, because words can't always exactly convey what they feel.
"When you look at that line out there between right and wrong, or between public decency and anarchy, if you will, and to willingly,, knowingly take that officer's life, (then) you have no remorse, no care for human decency," Addington said.
Rex NOTE: As Hadley and others would most likely attest, hitting the streets with the intention of making an arrest is serious business. Many of the people we deal with are the same people civilian law enforcement deal with, so, as always, you all be careful. I don't want to hear about any of you getting hurt or worse.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and all who have been hurt by the senseless murder of Officer Niemi.
