Christopher Jordan Dorner (June 4, 1979
– February 12, 2013) was a former officer of the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
who, beginning on February 3, 2013, committed a series of shootings in
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
,
Los Angeles County,
Riverside County
Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...
and
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
. The victims were law enforcement officers and the daughter of a retired police captain. Dorner killed four people and wounded three others. On February 12, 2013, Dorner died during a standoff with
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputies after a shootout at a cabin in the
San Bernardino Mountains.
A manifesto posted by Dorner on Facebook declared "unconventional and asymmetric warfare" upon the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
(LAPD), their families and their associates, unless the LAPD admitted publicly he was fired in retaliation for reporting excessive force.
In two separate incidents during the manhunt, police shot at three civilians unrelated to Dorner, mistaking their pickup trucks for the vehicle being driven by Dorner (which was a dark gray 2005 Nissan Titan). One of the civilians was hit by the police gunfire, another was wounded by shattered glass, and a third individual was injured when police rammed his vehicle and opened fire. The officers involved were not charged with any crime.
Background
Early life
Christopher Jordan Dorner was born on June 4, 1979, in New York and grew up in Southern California.
He attended
Cypress High School
Cypress High School is a public high school in the city of Cypress, California. It was founded in 1973 and serves grades 9 through 12. Cypress is one of eight high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD).
History
Cypress was firs ...
in
Cypress, California, where he graduated in 1997. Dorner graduated from
Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...
in 2001, with a major in political science and a minor in psychology. While there, he was a
football running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Ther ...
from 1999 to 2000.
Dorner later stated that he was the only African-American student in his school from first grade to seventh grade, and that he had altercations due to racism.
When he was a teenager, he decided to become a police officer and joined a youth program offered by the police department in
La Palma
La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...
, where he lived at the time of the shootings.
Neighbors described Dorner as belonging to an admired, well-liked family and a man who usually kept to himself. He was previously married, with no children. Court records show his wife filed for divorce in 2007.
Navy Reservist
Dorner was a
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
officer, commissioned in 2002. He commanded a security unit at the
Naval Air Station Fallon
Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located southeast of the city of Fallon, east of Reno in western Nevada. Since 1996, it has been home to the U.S. Na ...
(
Fallon, Nevada
Fallon is a city in Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley.
History
The community was first populat ...
), served with a
Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit
A Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit (MIUWU) was a component of the United States Navy's Force Protection Package tasked with providing seaward security to joint logistics over-the-shore operations from either a port or harbor complex or unimpro ...
from June 2004 to February 2006, and was deployed to
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
with
Coastal Riverine Group Two from November 2006 to April 2007. He was honorably discharged from the Navy Reserve as a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
on February 1, 2013.
In 2002, while a student at
Undergraduate Pilot Training
Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training ...
at
Vance Air Force Base
Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert Va ...
(
Enid, Oklahoma
Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...
), Dorner and a classmate found a bag containing nearly that belonged to the nearby Enid Korean Church of Grace. The two handed the money to the police. When asked their motive, Dorner replied that, "The military stresses integrity. ... There was a couple of thousand dollars, and if people are willing to give that to a church, it must be pretty important to them." Dorner also stated his mother taught him honesty and integrity. During his time as a reservist, Dorner received a
Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon and a
Navy Pistol Shot Ribbon with
expert device.
Los Angeles Police Department
During his time as a naval reservist, Dorner joined the
LAPD. He entered the police academy in 2005, graduating in 2006.
Shortly afterwards, his duties as a probationary officer were interrupted when he was deployed by the Navy Reserve to
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. On his return from duty in July 2007, Dorner was paired with training officer Teresa Evans to complete his probationary training. According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', Evans said that on Dorner's first day working with her, he told her that he planned to sue the LAPD after he completed his probationary period, in response to how the LAPD had responded to complaints he had previously made against his classmates.
Allegations against training officer
On July 28, 2007, Dorner and Evans responded to the Doubletree Hotel in
San Pedro, California
San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...
regarding a disturbance being caused by Christopher Gettler, who had
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...
with severe
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
.
Dorner filed a report alleging that Evans had used excessive force in her treatment of Gettler,
accusing her of twice kicking Gettler in the chest and once in the face while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. Gettler's father testified that his son told him he had been kicked by a police officer.
Dorner filed the report the day after being told that Evans had given an evaluation saying that he needed to improve his performance.
The LAPD investigated the complaint, examining the allegation against Evans and the truthfulness of Dorner's report, through an internal review board of three members—two LAPD captains and a criminal defense attorney. During the seven-month investigation of Dorner's complaint, Evans was assigned to desk duty and was not allowed to earn money outside of her LAPD job. Dorner's attorney at the board hearing was former LAPD captain Randal Quan.
The review board heard testimony from a number of witnesses. Two hotel employees testified that they did not see Evans kick Gettler.
Additionally a port police officer testified that he did not see Evans kick Gettler, however some aspects of his statement contradict photographs from the scene.
Gettler was brought to the police station and given medical treatment for injuries to his face, but did not mention being kicked at that time.
According to Gettler's father, later that day, Gettler told his father that he had been kicked by an officer, and his father testified to that at Dorner's disciplinary hearing.
In a videotaped interview with Dorner's attorney, shown at the hearing, Gettler stated that he was kicked in the face by a female police officer on the day and in the place in question; however, when Gettler testified at the hearing, his responses to questioning were described as "generally ... incoherent and nonresponsive."
[Dorner v. Los Angeles Police Department](_blank)
No. B225674 (Cal. Ct. App. October 3, 2011). The investigation concluded that there was no kicking and, later, decided that Dorner had lied.
Termination and failed appeal
In 2008, Dorner was fired by the LAPD for making false statements in his report and in his testimony against Evans.
Dorner's attorney, Quan, stated that Dorner was treated unfairly and was being made a scapegoat.
Dorner appealed his termination by filing a
writ of mandamus
(; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain fro ...
with the
Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Judge David Yaffe wrote that he was "uncertain whether the training officer kicked the suspect or not" but nevertheless upheld the department's decision to fire Dorner, according to the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''. Yaffe ruled that he would presume that the LAPD's accusations that Dorner's report was false would stand even though he did not know if his report of Evans kicking Gettler was false. This enraged Dorner, who yelled out in disbelief at the end of the hearing, "I told the truth! How can this
ulinghappen?".
Dorner appealed to the
California Court of Appeal
The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts. , which affirmed the lower court's ruling on October 3, 2011. Under California law, administrative findings (in this case by the LAPD) are entitled to a presumption of correctness and the petitioner (in this case Dorner) bears the burden of proving that they were incorrect. The appeals court concluded that the LAPD had substantial evidence for its finding that Dorner was not credible in his allegations against Evans.
Manifesto for killings
In early February 2013, coincident with the start of a series of revenge shootings, Dorner was purported to have posted a detailed note on his Facebook page, discussing his history, motivations, and plans.
This 11,000-word post became known as his "manifesto".
Dorner listed 40 law enforcement personnel whom he was prepared to kill and stated: "I know most of you who personally know me are in disbelief to hear from media reports that I am suspected of committing such horrendous murders and have taken drastic and shocking actions in the last couple of days", the posting began. "Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name. The department has not changed since the
Rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
and
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...
days. It has gotten worse...." Dorner issued a single demand: a public admission by the LAPD that his termination was in retaliation for reporting excessive force. He also asked journalists to pursue "the truth", pointing out specific lines of investigation for reporters to follow under the Freedom of Information Act.
On February 9, 2013, in response to Dorner's manifesto and the start of the killing spree, LAPD Chief
Charlie Beck
Charles Lloyd Beck (born June 27, 1953) is a retired police officer, formerly serving as the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and subsequently as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. A veteran of the department ...
informed Dorner through the media that there would be a review of the disciplinary case that led to Dorner's dismissal.
[Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck's Statement on Christopher Jordan Dorner](_blank)
(February 9, 2013) Beck said officials would re-examine the allegations by Dorner that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues.
Timeline of killings and manhunt
Dorner's killing spree began with a package stating his complaints, sent to
Anderson Cooper and arriving at
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
on February 1, 2013. After the first killings, Dorner's threats in his manifesto caused law enforcement to mount a widespread manhunt that spread from California to Nevada and Mexico.
Protection details were set up for over 40 potential targets of Dorner, and thousands of police were assigned to patrol Southern California's highways. The LAPD also took patrol officers off motorcycles for their protection.
February 1, 2013
Anderson Cooper received a package at his office containing a DVD that stated Dorner's case against the LAPD.
The package also contained a bullet-riddled
challenge coin
A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion, bearing an organization's insignia or emblem and carried by the organization's members. Traditionally, they might be given to prove membership when asked and to enhance morale. They are also coll ...
issued by LAPD Chief
William Bratton
William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American law enforcement officer and businessman who served two terms as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016). He previously served as the Commissioner of th ...
and a note inscribed with "1MOA" (one
minute of angle
A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The n ...
), implying that the coin was shot at
at a grouping of , boasting of his accuracy with a rifle.
February 3
During the evening hours in
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...
, 28-year-old Monica Quan and her fiancé, 27-year-old Keith Lawrence, were shot dead in Lawrence's parked white
Kia Optima
Optima is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Hermann Zapf and released by the D. Stempel AG foundry, Frankfurt, West Germany in 1958.
Though classified as a sans-serif, Optima has a subtle swelling at the terminals suggesting a glyphic s ...
outside their condominium complex.
Quan, a women's basketball assistant coach at
Cal State Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
,
was the daughter of Randal Quan, a former LAPD captain
and the lawyer who represented Dorner during his 2008 dismissal hearing. Lawrence was a campus public safety officer for the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
.
February 4
Dorner's "manifesto"
was posted online, stating his motive for the shootings was to clear his name.
He wrote, "I will not be alive to see my name cleared. That's what this is about, my name."
February 5
According to military sources, Dorner checked into
Naval Base Point Loma
Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwe ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, but skipped checkout procedures when leaving.
February 6
Dorner's manifesto specifically named Randal Quan and his family as targets, so on February 6, Irvine police named Dorner as the prime suspect in the murders of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence.
The manifesto claimed Quan had failed to represent Dorner's interests in favor of those of the LAPD.
Dorner reported specific acts of specific officers participating in the retaliation, but their names were redacted by media sources at the request of law enforcement who cited officer safety concerns.
February 7
Two LAPD officers were driving to a protection detail where they were assigned as security for one of the officers potentially targeted by Dorner, when they were flagged down by R.L. McDaniel at about . McDaniel reported seeing a man matching Dorner's description at a gas station in
Corona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
. The officers investigated the report, and they were following a pickup truck when the driver stopped, got out, and fired a rifle at them, grazing the head of one officer.
About twenty minutes after the Corona shooting, two officers of the neighboring
Riverside Police Department were ambushed and shot while stopped in their marked patrol unit at a red traffic light in that city. One officer, Michael Crain, died shortly after the shooting; the other was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition for surgery and survived.
About an hour and 25 minutes after the Riverside shooting, at approximately 3:00 am, a man matching Dorner's description tried to steal a boat in San Diego, telling the boat's captain that he would take the boat to Mexico. A federal criminal complaint was filed against Dorner this same day for allegedly fleeing California to avoid prosecution.
[ This article contains a copy of the criminal complaint filed in United States District Court.]
Hours later, the burning remains of Dorner's vehicle, a dark gray 2005 Nissan Titan truck, were found on a remote fire trail by a local, Daniel McGowan, near
Big Bear Lake, about 80 miles (130 km) from Los Angeles.
Investigators spread out to search for Dorner in the surrounding area, and about 125 officers went from door to door.
All schools in the
Bear Valley Unified School District
Bear Valley Unified School District is a school district in San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, ...
were placed into a state of lockdown.
February 9
CNN reported that the Los Angeles Police Dept. was re-opening its investigation into Dorner's dismissal from the LAPD so as to reassure the public that the police were doing everything in their power to capture Dorner.
February 10
Authorities offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Dorner.
For the first time, Dorner's actions were described as a form of "
domestic terrorism
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
".
With Dorner believed to be hiding somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains, an unmanned aerial vehicle was deployed to aid the search from the air amid fears that Dorner would head for the Mexican border.
Later in the day, a Lowe's home improvement store in
Northridge, Los Angeles
Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center.
Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the com ...
was evacuated based on reports of a possible sighting of Dorner.
February 11
The Riverside District Attorney filed formal charges against Dorner for the murder of a police officer and the attempted murder of three other officers.
February 12
Police raided a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico, based on a tip that Dorner was there. Authorities also discovered surveillance footage of Dorner purchasing scuba diving gear at a sporting goods store in
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...
.
A message posted on February 12 to the Twitter account of the
San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
district attorney's office said:
The message was removed within a few hours.
Final mountain cabin standoff
On February 12,
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department (SBSD) serves San Bernardino County, California, which is geographically the largest county in the United States (excluding Alaska's boroughs) and is headquartered in San Bernardino city. ...
deputies responded to a report of a carjacking of a white Dodge truck at 12:22 pm (PST) and began looking for the vehicle on the ground and from the air. The truck's driver had not been harmed.
Fish and Game officers were the first to spot the vehicle and recognized Dorner as the driver. Officers from numerous agencies chased Dorner to a cabin near
Big Bear Lake, California
Big Bear Lake is a small city in San Bernardino County, California, located in the San Bernardino Mountains along the south shore of Big Bear Lake, and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. The city is located about 25 miles (40& ...
.
Dorner opened fire on two officers from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, hitting both. The officers were airlifted to
Loma Linda University Medical Center
Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) is an academic hospital in California's Inland Empire region. Opened more than 100 years ago, it has a trauma center that admits over one million patients yearly, around 900 faculty physicians and ove ...
, where Detective Jeremiah MacKay was pronounced dead.
The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department confirmed to the media that Dorner was barricaded in a cabin near the command center set up for the manhunt, in a mountainous rural area northeast of
Angelus Oaks, California, and that the building was surrounded by law enforcement. The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that there might be hostages in the cabin with Dorner. A three-mile (5 km) perimeter was set up around the cabin and residents were told to remain inside with their doors locked.
Police initially attempted to force Dorner out of the cabin by using tear gas and demanding over loudspeakers that he surrender. When Dorner did not respond, police used a demolition vehicle to knock down most walls of the building. They then shot pyrotechnic tear gas canisters into the cabin, which resulted in the cabin catching fire. Such devices are nicknamed "burners", as the heat generated by the pyrotechnic reaction often causes fires. Shortly thereafter, a single gunshot was heard from the cabin.
As the fire continued, ammunition was exploding from within the cabin, making it dangerous for officials to try to put out the fire. Law enforcement experts differ on whether it was justified to use pyrotechnic devices to end the standoff, instead of waiting for Dorner to come out.
In the evening of February 12, LAPD and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office denied reports that a body believed to be that of Dorner had been recovered from the burned cabin. In a press conference, LAPD Commander Andrew Smith stated that no body had been removed from the site, adding that reports of a body being identified were untrue as the cabin area was "too hot to make entry".
Aftermath
On February 13, it was reported that human remains had been found in the search for Dorner's body in the cabin. A wallet with a California driver's license with the name "Christopher Dorner" was also found in the rubble of the cabin. That same day, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon disputed rumors that deputies had intentionally burned down the cabin. It was also revealed that deputies had knocked on the door of the cabin earlier during the search for Dorner, but moved on when they received no answer.
On February 14, medical examiners confirmed during an autopsy, using dental records, that the charred body found in the burned-out cabin was in fact that of Dorner.
On February 15, the sheriff's office announced the autopsy showed Dorner died from a single gunshot wound to the head, with evidence indicating that it was self-inflicted. At the same news conference, Sheriff John McMahon reiterated the claim that deputies had not deliberately set the cabin on fire. The Sheriff Department's Captain Gregg Herbert, who led the assault on the cabin, claimed that the canisters were a last resort, saying, "This was our only option," and adding that the potential for fire was considered.
Truck misidentifications
In two separate incidents in the early morning hours of February 7, 2013, police fired on people who turned out to be unrelated to Dorner. Dorner was not present at either of the incidents.
At about 5:30 am (PST), at least seven
LAPD officers on a protection detail of an unnamed LAPD official's residence in the 19500 block of Redbeam Street
in the Los Angeles County city of
Torrance opened fire on the back of a light blue
Toyota Tacoma and shot its two occupants, Emma Hernandez, 71, and her daughter, Margie Carranza, 47,
delivering newspapers for the ''Los Angeles Times''.
The vehicle, according to officers, was spotted exiting a freeway and heading to the area of the residence that officers were protecting, was thought by police to match the description of Dorner's 2005 gray
Nissan Titan
The Nissan Titan is a full-size pickup truck manufactured in the United States for the North American market by Nissan. It was named for the Titans of Greek mythology.
__TOC__
First generation (A60; 2003)
Development of the Titan began in ...
and was moving without its headlights on.
[Search for killings suspect leads to shootings in South Bay](_blank)
Orange County Register. February 7, 2013. Hernandez was shot in the back and Carranza received wounds to her hand. Their attorney claimed police "had no idea who was in that vehicle" when they opened fire, and that nothing about his clients or their vehicle matched the descriptions given of the suspect or his truck.
The two women stated that they were given no warning prior to being fired upon.
A neighbor said the truck was used every day to deliver newspapers, and the women who used it kept their headlights off so as to not wake people up.
The two women were injured, but both survived. The LAPD started an
internal investigation into the shooting committed by multiple officers. According to their attorney Glen Jonas, 102 bullets holes were found in the truck.
The LAPD declined to confirm the total number of officers involved or how many bullets were fired or if any verbal warnings were given to the women before the shooting began.
Approximately 25 minutes after that incident, officers from the
Torrance Police Department
The Torrance Police Department is the police department serving Torrance, California.
The department employs 227 sworn officers and 124 civilians. The department is the largest law enforcement agency in South Bay, and is one of the largest polic ...
struck and opened fire on another vehicle.
Like the first shooting, the incident involved a vehicle that police claimed resembled the description of Dorner's truck, but was later discovered to be a black
Honda Ridgeline
The Honda Ridgeline is a midsize pickup truck manufactured by Honda. The Ridgeline is the only pickup truck currently produced by Honda. The Ridgeline is built using a unibody frame, a transverse-mounted engine, and is only offered in a crew–cab ...
driven by a white male.
The victim of the second shooting by police was David Perdue, who was on his way to the beach for some early morning surfing before work. A Torrance Police Department police cruiser slammed into Perdue's pickup and Torrance police officers opened fire. Perdue was not hit by any of the bullets, but reportedly suffered injuries as a result of the car impact.
Police claim that Perdue's pickup truck "matched the description" of the one belonging to Dorner. However, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that the vehicle involved was once again a different make and color to that of the suspect's, and that Perdue "looks nothing like" the suspect.
Settlement paid
In April 2013 the Los Angeles Police Department paid a $4.2 million settlement to Margie Carranza and Emma Hernandez, the two women who were mistakenly shot by police on the morning of February 7, 2013.
The city of Torrance initially offered a $500,000 settlement to David Perdue for ramming his pickup truck and then shooting at him on the morning of February 7, 2013. This was rejected and with the case set to go to trial in August 2014 they reached an agreement in July 2014 for a $1.8 million settlement paid by the city of Torrance to Perdue.
Use-of-force policy violation
On February 4, 2014, LAPD chief Charlie Beck announced that eight officers had violated the LAPD's use-of-force policy and would be disciplined. Beck noted that California state law prevents him from disclosing the nature of the discipline publicly, but that discipline could range "from extensive retraining up to termination."
Disciplinary actions for the officers involved did not include criminal charges.
Reward
On February 10, 2013, Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillar ...
announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Dorner and, because the terms of the offer were not carefully stipulated, judges had to later decide how the reward would be divided. Ultimately the reward was divided four ways, with $800,000 going to James and Karen Reynolds, who were tied up by Dorner in their Big Bear cabin before he stole their vehicle, $150,000 to Daniel McGowan, and $50,000 to R.L. McDaniel.
[http://www.jdjournal.com/2013/05/08/lapd-decides-how-1m-award-for-dorners-capture-will-be-distributed/ June, Daniel, "LAPD Decides How 1M Reward for Dorner's Capture Will Be Distributed"]
Protests against the Los Angeles Police Department
There were online protests against the LAPD as well as a protest at police headquarters on February 16, 2013.
Protestors stated that they objected to the manner in which Dorner's dismissal was handled, the reckless shooting of civilians by the LAPD during the manhunt, and the police intentionally setting fire to the cabin in which Dorner was hiding.
See also
*
List of homicides in California
This is a list of notable homicides in California. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of California that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into four subject areas as fo ...
*
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, shooting and killing five officers, and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Johnson was an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran and was ...
*
Primorsky Partisans
The Primorsky Partisans were a group of six young men who waged a guerrilla war against the Russian police, who have long been accused of corruption and brutality.
History
From the small village of Kirovsky in Primorsky Krai, Russia's Far East ...
Notes
References
External links
"Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer" ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''
''CHRISTOPHER DORNER, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT et al., Defendants and Respondents''. No. B225674. Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Four. Filed October 3, 2011.*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorner, Christopher, shootings and manhunt
2013 in California
2013 mass shootings in the United States
2013 murders in the United States
Anti-police violence in the United States
Attacks in the United States in 2013
Crimes in California
Deaths by firearm in California
February 2013 events in the United States
History of Irvine, California
Law enforcement in California
Los Angeles Police Department
Manhunts
Mass murder in 2013
Murder in California
Spree shootings in the United States
Terrorism in the United States