SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Kevin Nishita worked with many of us here at KRON4, including with journalists at other Bay Area stations.
His former colleagues in law enforcement are remembering him as the hard working and kind family man that he was.
Nishita is known for his smile and generosity.
“His smile would light up a room for sure,” said Sgt. Dawn Marchetti of Colma Police Department. “He would give the shirt off his back to anybody that needed it. He was always there for anyone, for anything, anytime.”
Marchetti worked with Nishita for several years, first in San Jose then in Colma.
Officer Kim Trask also followed Nishita to Colma from another agency.
“I was kind of nervous about trying to go to another agency. but he just reminded me that you can do the job that you’re going to be good,” Trask said. “(Nishita) put in a good word for me, so I honestly do believe because of Kevin is one of the reasons I got hired at Colma.”
“Even though he had other cases he was working on, he actually came out to the scene and helped me and pretty much kind of took over the investigation and walked me through it,” Trask added.
Oakland city councilmember and mayoral candidate Sheng Thao never met Nishita, but she says she’s feeling his loss.
“I just want to send love and light to his family and friends,” Thao said.
On Wednesday around 12:20 p.m., he was shot in an attempted robbery while on assignment in Oakland, protecting a KRON4 reporter.
The shooting happened near the intersection of 14th and Harrison.
He was rushed to Highland Hospital where died Saturday morning from his injuries.
Nishita was highly respected and will be greatly missed. He leaves behind a wife, two children, and three grandchildren.
“I watched him walk in on his first day of law enforcement and boy, if I can describe him anyway, it would be the energizer bunny,” Carel Duplessis said.
Carel Duplessis is the Oakland Housing Authority Chief of Police. He knew Nishita for 27 years.
“Just so energetic and so willing to do things,” Duplessis said.
Hey says Nishita always kept in contact, even after he left the housing authority. He then went on to work for the Hayward, San Jose, and Colma police departments before joining Star Protection Agency.
A reward of $32,500 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.
The city council is having a joint meeting with the Public Safety and Services Violence Prevention Oversight Commission on December 7. Anyone can attend it on Zoom at 5:30 p.m.