Manhunt for LAPD ex-cop Christopher Dorner ends in bullets, flames (+video)
The manhunt for ex-cop Christopher Dorner played out in real time on television. On Twitter and other social media, many expressed support for the suspect's alleged killing spree and his claims against LAPD.
Investigators work near the Mountain View Resort in Big Bear, Calif., near where authorities believe ex-Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner barricaded himself inside, engaged in a shootout that killed a deputy, and then never emerged as the home went up in flames on Tuesday.
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/AP
LOS ANGELES
The manhunt for former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner reached its climax Tuesday night with dramatic shootouts and leaping flames engulfing a mountain hideout. Authorities believe the cabin, sequestered in a gully near the resort town of Big Bear Lake, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, is where the suspect ended his flight. Charred human remains, yet to be identified, were found in the burned cabin late Tuesday night.
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The daylong rampage, involving two hostages and a carjacking, also claimed the life of a fourth victim, a sheriff’s deputy. The San Bernardino officer was shot as the suspect tried a desperate escape from the cabin during the afternoon.
Startlingly raw footage of ferocious gunfights played all day on local television stations as newscasters awaited more information about the search. At the same time, a drumbeat of social media support grew louder for the man dismissed by the Los Angeles Police Department four years ago for allegedly lying to investigators about an incident of police brutality. Mr. Dorner had claimed that a fellow officer had kicked a suspect.
All this is part of what many observers call yet another instance of a rapidly escalating tide of extreme violence, laced with increased resentment of police in certain communities.
“We have a culture of more and more extreme behavior," says Najee Ali, a well-known black activist and executive director of Project Islamic H.O.P.E. in Los Angeles, which he says shows up in everything from video games to TV and movies. At the same time, he adds, “we are seeing a growing culture of resentment for police brutality that is overlooked and tolerated in communities of color.” When something like this happens, extraordinary as the details are, the fundamental narrative of unfairness at the hands of law enforcement is strong, he says.
This extremism is apparent in many details of the Dorner case from this past week, says Tom Fuentes, former assistant FBI director, as he spoke with CNN during the day.
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