The deadliest day in Oakland Police history, on which four officers were shot and killed last March, led to an inquiry by an independent panel of police experts whose report was just released last night. In the report, police error is blamed for all four deaths, with the first two officers shot being criticized, post-mortem, for both approaching the driver's side window of Lovelle Mixon's car, placing them in a vulnerable position. We never thought the phrase "blaming the victim" could be applied to police officers, but there you have it.

The bulk of the blame in the report is pointed at three unnamed commanding officers, who ABC7 identifies as Deputy Chief David Kozicki (who has since retired), Lieutenant Chris Mufarreh and Captain Rick Orozco, the latter two of whom are being demoted by the OPD. They're being criticized for not arriving on the scene for 90 minutes, for not setting up a command post, and for storming the building where Lovelle Mixon was hiding without knowing for sure where he was. The report calls the entire operation "problematic from its inception." Below, ABC7's archival footage of that awful day, as well their coverage of the report.