Gunned down doing his job

[TheeBadOne]

San Leandro police officer fatally shot; Newark man sought

SAN LEANDRO — A San Leandro police officer was gunned down late Monday as he investigated a call in a western corner of the city that encompasses a mix of homes, condominiums and warehouses, officials said Tuesday.

San Leandro police identified Irving "Gotti" Ramirez, a 23-year-old Latino man whose last known residence was in Newark, as the man who allegedly gunned down the as-yet-unnamed officer.

Authorities have issued a statewide bulletin in their quest to track Ramirez down, said Lt. Marc DeCoulode, spokesman for the San Leandro Police Department.

The officer had gone to the 14700 block of Doolittle Drive to investigate a report of loud noise and loitering at about 10:50 p.m., authorities said. The officer was engaged in a conversation with three unidentified people when a white 1995 Ford Thunderbird with two people inside pulled alongside him, said San Leandro Police Lt. Jeff Juanicot.

While the officer was talking to the two occupants of the Thunderbird, Juanicot said, one of the men in the car drew a handgun and fired several shots, striking the officer multiple times.

The officer, who had been with the department for five years, was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he was pronounced dead at 11:38 p.m. The officer, investigators said, had been with the department for three years and was married with a child.

Investigators found the Thunderbird parked near the scene of the shooting. Investigators searched Ramirez's home in Newark, but didn't find the suspect. Ramirez still was being sought Tuesday morning.

Ramirez, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday, is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Investigators said he is considered armed and extremely dangerous.

The fatal shooting of the police officer sent a ripple of shock and dismay through the 90-officer department.

The department will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today.





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