John Raymond Hege
Agency patch
Police Officer

John Raymond Hege

Oakland Police Department — Oakland, CA
Felonious
End of Watch March 24, 2009
Age 41
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
The Vigil Panel 157 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer John Hege and Sergeant Mark Dunakin were shot and killed during a traffic stop at 74th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. During the stop, the driver opened fire, killing Sergeant Dunakin and mortally wounding Officer Hege. Citizens who witnessed the incident called 911 and started CPR on both officers.

The suspect fled on foot, leading to an intense manhunt by dozens of officers from the Oakland Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and Alameda County Sheriff's Department.

At approximately 3:30 p.m., the Oakland Police Department received an anonymous tip that the suspect was barricaded inside an apartment building on 74th Avenue.

Officers first attempted to negotiate with the suspect, but a SWAT team was sent into the location to apprehend him when that failed. As the SWAT officers approached, the suspect opened fire with a rifle, killing Sergeant Ervin Romans and Sergeant Daniel Sakai and wounding a third officer. Officers returned fire, killing the 26-year-old male suspect.

It was later determined that the suspect had an extensive violent criminal history and was on parole for assault with a deadly weapon. In addition, at the time of the incident, he had a no-bail parole warrant.

Officer Hege had served with the Oakland Police Department for 10 years.

Survivors

He is survived by his parents.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-8E36C82C
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Police Officer Hege gave the Oakland Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Oakland community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Police Officer Hege.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Police Department
Location Oakland, Alameda County, CA
Platform Identity opd.alameda.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch March 24, 2009
Tour of Duty 10 yrs
Age 41
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Cause Detail Gunfire
Weapon Gun; Unknown type

Police Officer John Raymond Hege is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In CA, 974 of 1,837 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 53% of this state's fallen. That is 53 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Oakland Police Department, 37 of 54 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 68.5% of this agency's fallen.

Oakland Police Department
37
of 54 officers
68.5% Felonious
CA — Statewide
974
of 1,837 officers
53% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Raymond Hege's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How John Raymond Hege Compares

Age at Death
41
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
10
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. John Raymond Hege is highlighted in Mar.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. John Raymond Hege was killed by gun; unknown type.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Incident Location