PO Tuan Le

Officer: Oakland Police Officer Tuan Le

Date: 12/29/2023        Location: Oakland, CA          FACTORS (1,2,3,7,8,15,19,21)

Perpetrator(s) Involved: Mark Demetrious Sanders; Allen Starr Brown

Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, Sanders has a 2022 conviction for burglary and one in 2014 for voluntary manslaughter. / Yes, Sanders and his accomplices were burglarizing a cannabis store.

Mental Illness: None stated.

Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None reported.

Race/Sex/Age: Black/Male/27; Black/Male/28

What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 4:45 a.m. on December 29, 2023, Oakland police officers responded to a 911 call of a burglary at a cannabis store.

Actions taken by subject toward police: Upon seeing the police arrive, Brown drove off as Sanders fired multiple shots at an unmarked police vehicle, fatally striking Oakland PO Tuan Le in the head.

Reactions by the police: Officers tended to the mortally injured PO Le as the perpetrators escaped the scene. After an intense manhunt the police tracked down and arrested both Sanders and Brown within a few days.

How murdered? PO Le was ambushed upon responding to a 911 call of a burglary.

What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? It is an inherently dangerous part of being a police officer to respond to reports of crimes in action, not responding is not an option. There was no way for PO Le to anticipate being shot at from a fleeing vehicle as he arrived in the area of the crime.

Would the officer have been justified in using deadly force before being murdered? PO Le was ambushed and never had a chance to use justified deadly force.

Outcome for the cop-killer: Sanders was arrested and charged with murder with special circumstances and his accomplice Brown has been charged with murder.

Miscellaneous: Sanders is a person of interest in a recent homicide and despite being convicted for burglary just last year, he was free instead of behind bars where he belongs.