As the Oakland Police Department continues to search for the people responsible for the Friday shooting death of Officer Tuan Le, the city continues to remember the fallen officer.
In just under four years with OPD, Le built strong relationships with city residents — particularly elders in the Asian community.
The 36-year-old — born in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam — was a familiar and welcome face around Oakland’s Little Saigon and Chinatown.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
“Whether the elderly, the business people, they feel much closer when they’re hearing someone is an Asian police officer. They’re able to communicate and they also feel very comfortable,” said Oakland Chamber of Commerce President Carl Chan.
Chan said he remembered Le for his humility, adding that the officer was skilled at de-escalating tense situations.
Oakland public safety advocate Keisha Henderson has built close ties with many OPD officers in her life. She said she met Le earlier this year, when he was on patrol in East Oakland.
“Told him my concerns for the neighborhood, some of the goals I have,” Henderson said. “And what I respect about him is, I could tell he was a great listener.”
Le was in plainclothes and in an unmarked car when he was shot while responding to a burglary at a cannabis dispensary in Jack London Square Friday morning.
Henderson believes that gun violence in Oakland has gotten out of control and is worried that it’s only going to get worse.
“My fear is the message of Officer Le being killed, the message that that is sending. because now it’s like, ‘okay, we took an officer down,’” Henderson said.
