Fugitive’s targets under heavy guard

Ex-officer blames them for job loss

— Police blocked off a street and stood guard in front of a home in a typically quiet Southern California suburb Sunday, protecting a man they believe has been targeted by a fugitive ex-police officer suspected of killing three people and setting the region on edge by eluding authorities in a sprawling manhunt that has lasted days.

Authorities have been working to protect dozens of families in the area considered targets based on Christopher Dorner’s Facebook rant against those he held responsible for ending his career with the Los Angeles Police Department five years ago.

Among those Dorner, 33, is suspected of killing is a Riverside police officer, and on the fourth day of the manhunt, authorities put up a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture.

“We will not tolerate this reign of terror,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Just a few hours after the reward announcement a reported Dorner sighting had police surrounding a Los Angeles home-improvement store, but police spokesman Gus Villanueva could not immediately say whether the tip was legitimate.

Dorner’s background has added concern to the case. The former Los Angeles police officer also served in the Navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and a pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. In his online post, Dorner vowed to use “every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training I’ve been given” to bring “warfare” to the Police Department and its families.

As tense Irvine residents went on with their lives, police looked into a taunting phone call to the father of the woman they believe Dorner killed last week.

Two law enforcement officers who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press they are trying to determine whether Dorner made the call telling retired police Capt. Randal Quan that he should have done a better job protecting his daughter.

The bodies of Monica Quan and her fiance were found shot dead Feb. 3 in Irvine, marking the start of the high-profile case.

Things escalated early Thursday morning, whenpolice say Dorner got into a shootout with police in Corona, grazing a Los Angeles officer’s head with a bullet before escaping. Authorities believe he then used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

About 65 miles away, the manhunt continued in the San Bernardino mountains near the ski resort town of Big Bear, where authorities found Dorner’s burned out pickup Thursday. Police have since said they discovered weapons and camping gear inside the vehicle.

The search scaled down as the weekend went on, but a helicopter with heat-seeking technology scanned the area as two-dozen officers went back to some of the 600 cabins they earlier visited door to door.

Meanwhile, police responded to the Sunday afternoon sighting report in Los Angeles, establishing a command post and slowly evacuating a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in the city’s San Fernando Valley.

Villanueva emphasized that the major response was a precaution. He couldn’t say whether Dorner was in the area.

Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said the department has deployed 50 protection details to guard officers and their families who are deemed targets in Dorner’s manifesto.

There were no plans to reduce protections until Dorner was in custody, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Rudy Lopez.

The Police Department remains on modified tactical alert, responding only to priority calls and not to those for lesser issues such as public intoxication or business disputes.

Information for this article was contributed by Andrew Dalton of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 02/11/2013

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