In February of 2013, Christopher Dorner, a former LAPD officer who was terminated after attempting to expose brutality by a supervisor, went on a killing spree. He murdered the families of LAPD officers whom he felt had wronged him.
Dorner’s killing spree prompted the LAPD to go into overdrive, launching a week long manhunt. Dorner’s victim’s weren’t the only ones hurt in the crossfire of the chaos. Margie Carranza along with her mother, identified as Emma Hernandez, were shot at in their pickup truck 107 times, by jumpy LAPD cops who believed they were Dorner. Despite their obvious failure to identify the driver before opening fire, no charges will be brought against the eight officers who nearly killed the women on their newspaper delivery route.
Hernandez suffered multiple gunshot wounds, some nearly hitting her spine . One bullet traveled through her back and exited near her collarbone. Her daughter Margie was lucky, only receiving cuts from broken glass, as her mother shielded her from the onslaught.
The officers involved were tasked with protecting LAPD Captain Justin Eisenberg. Eisenberg was named in Dorner’s online manifesto as a target. Dorner blamed Eisenberg and other high ranking officials at the LAPD for ending his career, after he attempted to expose brutality by Sgt Teresa Evans, his supervisor. Dorner reported Evans for kicking a homeless man in the face after he was already handcuffed. He was initially accused of fabricating the event because he received an unsatisfactory performance review by Evans. She was ultimately found not to have committed any acts of brutality, as alleged by Dorner. Despite the fact that the evidence, including testimony from the victim, backed Dorner’s account, Dorner was terminated for lying.
Dorner appealed the termination. The presiding judge in the hearing stated that he was unable to determine if Sgt. Evans did or did not commit the brutality as alleged, yet decided to uphold the termination by the LAPD. When you examine the allegations made by Dorner and the consequences he subsequently faced, it becomes clear how this case is not unlike similar cases involving whistle blowers. Dorner was trying to do the right thing and he was punished for not falling in line.
The cops involved in the shooting were looking for Dorner and had the description of his vehicle. He was supposedly in a gray Nissan Titan. Despite the clear description, the officers unloaded their guns on a blue Toyota Tacoma. The fact that the driver was a Hispanic female – when they were looking for a black male – clearly shows that the officers failed to properly identify the people in the truck before trying to kill them. This is clear cut constitutional violation, which the DA simply doesn’t care to expose.
The family received over four million dollars in settlement money, however, no settlement amount can negate the blatant criminality demonstrated by these officers. This case sets precedent that you can shoot at a car that you believes matches the description of a car driven by a wanted man. The cops played judge, jury and executioner and they got it wrong. This is the ultimate prelude of a police state.
The officers were identified as Sgt John Valdez, Jesse Faber, Sergio Gramajo, Marlon Franco, John Hart, Deshon Parker, Geoff Lear and Jonathan Roman. According to the District Attorney, the shooting of two innocent women, by the LAPD, was a result of a “heightened state of alert” and that the officers were operating “with limited planning or tactical instruction.”
Basically, they were jumpy and had no idea what they were doing. I’d like you to note that this is the first time that blatant incompetence has been used as an excuse to justify the attempted murder of two innocent citizens. The decision of the District Attorney not to indict these officers on charges of attempted murder, is a slap in the face to the American public who no longer want to accept the repeated killings of innocent people with no consequence.
The shooting was justified by the District Attorney, stating that the officers believed they had the right vehicle as the license plate started with the combination “8D.” Dorner’s truck also had a license plate that began with 8D. The windows were tinted, and so the officers were unable to identify the driver. The vehicle traveled at approximately five miles per hour, and was making a thumping sound that officers perceived to be gun shots. The thumping was the sound of newspapers hitting the pavement.
These factors combined, with the fact that the officers were in “unfamiliar” territory outside their usual jurisdiction, somehow makes it okay for them to shoot unarmed civilians. The official justification was self-defense. A bold lie to cover their actions. The officers claimed they applied the appropriate force, which would be used to detain a fleeing felon. Another lie. Fleeing felons have been protected by the constitution since Tennessee v. Garner. The District Attorney ate all this up and is expecting you to eat it, too.
The case of Christopher Dorner was highlighted by mainstream media – not for the allegations that Dorner made – but for the actions that Dorner took. Dorner’s killings of innocent people, particularly family members of those who did him wrong, was abhorrent and not the example to follow. The root cause of his rampage, however, has not received the attention it deserves. Dorner attempted to expose police corruption and lost everything because of it. He turned in an abusive supervisor and he was the one to pay the price.
The District Attorney failing to indict the officers involved in this case of mistaken identity, has only contributed to the divisiveness the country is feeling. How many more times can we see a corrupt system taking care of its own before incidents like Dallas become daily events?
Email your outrage to the LA District Attorney!
Sources: The Free Thought Project, CNN
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This failure to act by the Authorities should cause a revolution alone! Enough is Enough!!!
I would love to convey my outrage. But I’m seriously afraid my name would end up on a list somewhere.
We need a site specifically for the purpose of identifying home addresses of all police, prosecutors, and judges.
Citizens would input the data……and have access to the data.
When these traitors to the constitution realize their choices are either to live in an armed camp……..or behave with integrity, only then will things begin to change for the better.