Ex-officer’s case stirs LA protest

Sunday, February 17, 2013

— Dozens of protesters rallied outside Los Angeles police headquarters Saturday in support of former Los Angeles officer Christopher Dorner, the suspect in four slayings who died after a shootout and fire last week after one of the biggest manhunts in recent memory.

Protesters told the Los Angeles Times they didn’t support Dorner’s deadly methods, but objected to police corruption and brutality, and believed Dorner’s claims of racial bias and unfair treatment by the department. Many said they were angered by the extent of the manhunt that led to Dorner’s death.

Michael Nam, 30, who held a sign with a flaming tombstone and the inscription “RIP Habeas Corpus,” said it was “pretty obvious” police had no intention of taking Dorner alive.

“They were the judge, the jury and the executioner,” Nam said. “As an American citizen, you have the right to a trial and due process by law.”

During the hunt for Dorner, Police Department Chief Charlie Beck called for Dorner’s surrender and said he didn’t want to see the suspect or anyone else injured.

Dorner was already believed to have killed three people when he was cornered Tuesday at the cabin near Big Bear Lake. During the standoff, he shot and killed a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said.

Only after calls for surrender and use of milder tear gas did deputies launch pyrotechnic gas canisters into the cabin, and the subsequent fire was not intentional, the sheriff’s office said.

Dorner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the end of the standoff, sheriff’s officials said.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/17/2013