Officer Tuan Le, 36, was shot and killed in the early hours of 29 December 2023 while answering a burglary report at a cannabis business on the 400 block of Embarcadero in Oakland.[1][2] Police had already attended the same premises around 1 a.m., found that a burglary had taken place and left; the fatal call came at about 4:30 a.m. when the business was burgled again.[1][2]
Le was in plain clothes and driving an unmarked car when several officers converged on the scene as people fled.[1][2] One of the fleeing people fired several times at Le’s vehicle, striking him; officers did not return fire and no suspects were in custody that day.[1] He died at Highland Hospital at 8:44 a.m.[1] Le, a Vietnamese immigrant who joined the force in 2020 and worked as a community resource officer in West Oakland, was the 54th Oakland officer killed in the line of duty.[1]
Indictments
A federal grand jury later indicted nine people on drug and conspiracy charges tied to a series of 2023 burglaries at the waterfront grow facility.[3] Prosecutors allege the group burgled the Embarcadero unit over about four hours on 29 December and left with at least 100 marijuana plants.[3] The indictment says Allen Brown drove one getaway vehicle while an unidentified passenger fired at least 20 shots into Le’s truck.[3] Cooper, Brown, Russell and Sanders were separately charged with murder in connection with his death.[3]