Mourners gathered Thursday at the San Jose Civic Auditorium to pay their respects to Kevin Nishita, a former police officer and security guard who was killed during an attempted robbery of a television news crew in Oakland.
Hundreds of police officers and other mourners were at the facility Thursday morning to bid farewell to Nishita.
Nishita was an employee of Star Protection Agency and was working with a news team from television station KRON on Nov. 24 when he was shot in the robbery, which occurred in the 300 block of 14th Street in Oakland. He suffered a lower abdomen injury and died three days later at Highland Hospital, according to authorities.
Nishita began his law enforcement career in 1993 as a member of the Oakland Housing Authority Police Department before serving as an officer in San Jose, Colma and Hayward. Officers from those departments escorted his body when it was taken to a funeral home last week.
Oakland police are investigating the shooting. Authorities have released surveillance photo of a vehicle authorities said the suspect was driving — a white 2004-2008 Acura TL with no front license plate — and asked the public to contact police if they have any information about the killing.
Crime Stoppers of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department are offering up to $38,500 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the people involved in the shooting. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.
