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Oakland Police Announce Arrests in Killing of Undercover Officer

KQED News Staff and Wires
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A close-up headshot of a young Asian Oakland police officer next to a blue OPD flag, with a large body of water in the background.
Oakland police Officer Tuan Le, 36, who was fatally shot on the morning of Dec. 29, 2023, while responding to a burglary at a cannabis business near Jack London Square. He was rushed to Highland Hospital and pronounced dead several hours later. (Courtesy of the Oakland Police Department)

Oakland police announced Tuesday several arrests have been made in the shooting death of undercover Officer Tuan Le last week. Le, 36, was shot multiple times in the early morning hours Friday while responding to a burglary call at a cannabis dispensary in the 400 block of Embarcadero. He died at a hospital at 8:44 a.m. that day.

According to Alameda County Jail booking records and multiple news organizations, a man named Mark Demetrious Sanders, 27, suspected in the killing of Officer Tuan Le, was arrested Tuesday in Livermore by Oakland police and the U.S. Marshals. Sanders was booked in Santa Rita Jail on charges of murder, assault with a firearm, burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary. The Oakland Police Department said on Wednesday that they haven’t officially released any names at this time, and there are additional suspects they have yet to arrest.

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“In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, OPD has made significant progress in the investigation, resulting in several additional arrests over the weekend,” Oakland police said in a news release on Tuesday, adding that they made at least one arrest early Tuesday.

“This is just the beginning of a lengthy legal process; we are hopeful that it will start the healing for Officer Le’s grieving family and our entire OPD family,” police said in the news release. “We are committed to keeping you all informed throughout the investigation.”

According to OPD, the department is not releasing any names at this time because “this is an ongoing investigation, and we do not want to jeopardize our case. There are additional suspects we have yet to arrest.

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Officers initially responded around 1 a.m. Friday to a report of a burglary at the dispensary but eventually left the scene, then returned at about 4:30 a.m. for a call of a second burglary at the same location. Officers saw multiple people leaving the scene, and at least one person fired multiple times, striking Le, who was working as a plainclothes officer and driving an unmarked vehicle. The four-year veteran of the department is survived by his wife and mother.

This story includes reporting from KQED’s Tara Siler, Kiley Russell of Bay City News, and multiple news organizations.

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