Repeated gaffes ultimately halted ex-cop's rampage

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LAPD_REVENGE_KILLINGS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-02-13-09-51-16

Repeated gaffes ultimately halted ex-cop's rampage
By GREG RISLING and TAMI ABDOLLAH

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- He styled himself as a Rambo-like guerrilla, someone trained to outwit and outshoot the police at every turn, and while Christopher Dorner left no doubt he could be unforgivingly violent, when it came to keeping ahead of the law during his deadly rampage, he made one gaffe after another.

The last one - letting one of two people he tied up get loose and call police as he made off in their purple car - tipped authorities he was coming.

The angry ex-cop, who authorities say boasted that police agencies had no chance of capturing him except on his terms, appears to have been killed Tuesday in a fierce gun battle after he wrecked two getaway cars and had to make a last stand in a mountain cabin 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

The cabin went up in flames after authorities launched pyrotechnic tear-gas canisters into it, and authorities were all but certain the charred body found inside afterward was Dorner's. They are waiting for forensic tests to confirm that, but in the meantime San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said Wednesday that authorities consider the hunt over. ...

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Facebook was his fatal mistake. Zero stealth. Very crappy asymmetrical warfare.

[MADem]

1. When he stole the boat and managed to get the tow line wrapped around the

propeller, rendering the thing inoperable, that was the first clue that this guy wasn't the survivalist he claimed to be.

[Sheldon Cooper]

2. Any sympathy for Dorner's plight evaporated

the minute he pulled the trigger and killed the police officer's daughter to start his rampage. He may have had some legitimate beefs with the LAPD, but he couldn't have picked a worse way to get them aired. And I don't much care if they burned him out or whatever, he was determined not to be taken alive anyway so big deal as far as I'm concerned. I will not be organizing a candlelight vigil for Dorner.

However, having said that, I understand that at least two other former LAPD officers have come forward with additional claims as to the rampant bigotry, brutality, and other dysfunctions with that department. Maybe now their stories will get a fair hearing and possibly even get some changes as a result. There's really nothing 'good' about what Dorner did, but msybe his actions will be a catalyst for change.

[eShirl]

3. good post

[warrior1]

4. and all of this victims

were not LAPD.

How people can defend him is beyond me.

[EOTE]

7. And many people wonder how anyone can defend the LAPD with all their victims.

Today alone, the LAPD will rack up several more victims. Innocents thrown in jail, innocents tortured by bloodthirsty, sick fuck cops. Perhaps some more people killed by their reckless shooting. Of course the LAPD won't get the same scorn, they'll just go right back to their disgusting behavior. So good that this ordeal is over.

[warrior1]

8. that's a big brush

to paint an entire organization.

I guess you have all the answers. Look in a mirror.

[EOTE]

9. Well, they've been painting with that brush for many decades.

They're one of the most evil, corrupt PDs in the entire country and THAT'S saying something. Maybe if they stop beating minorities, injuring and killing others through collateral damage and arresting others for no reason, then maybe people will be a little kinder in their assessment of the LAPD.

[Blue_Roses]

10. I think what gets confusing during times

like this is that most sympathize with the plight of one who has been wronged (LAPD alleged abuse), since many of us have been in those shoes--whether it be a job, bills, health, etc. It's the way he went about seeking justice that made it a lost cause. Killing innocent people doesn't exactly rack up a lot of support for justification.

I certainly can relate to the frustration and helplessness when it seems the odds are stacked against you. I just wish he would have found a connection that would have worked toward a more positive outcome. Going to a reporter maybe?

Hindsight is always 20/20. It's just so sad all the way around.

[bemildred]

5. North Hollywood shootout

The North Hollywood shootout was an armed confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers and officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles on February 28, 1997. Both robbers were killed, eleven police officers and seven civilians were injured, and numerous vehicles and other property were damaged or destroyed by the nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition fired by the robbers and the police.[2]

At 9:17 AM, Larry Phillips Jr and Emil Mătăsăreanu entered and robbed the North Hollywood Bank of America branch. Phillips and Mătăsăreanu were confronted by LAPD officers when they exited the bank and a shootout between the officers and robbers ensued. The two robbers attempted to flee the scene, Phillips on foot and Mătăsăreanu in their getaway vehicle, while continuing to engage the officers. The shootout continued onto a residential street adjacent to the bank until Phillips was mortally wounded, including by a self-inflicted gunshot wound; Mătăsăreanu was killed by officers three blocks away. Phillips and Mătăsăreanu are believed to have robbed two other banks using virtually identical methods by taking control of the entire bank and firing automatic weapons for control and entry past 'bullet-proof' security doors, and are possible suspects in two armored vehicle robberies.[3]

Local patrol officers at the time were typically armed with their personal 9 mm or .38 Special pistols, with some having a 12-gauge shotgun available in their cars. Phillips and Mătăsăreanu carried illegally modified fully automatic AKMs and an AR-15 rifle with high capacity drum magazines and ammunition capable of penetrating police body armor. They also wore body armor of their own. Since the police handguns could not penetrate the bank robbers' body armor, the patrol officers' bullets were ineffective. SWAT eventually arrived with rifles powerful enough to penetrate the body armor. Several officers also appropriated AR-15 rifles from a nearby firearms dealer. The incident sparked debate on the need for patrol officers to upgrade their capabilities in similar situations in the future.[4]

Due to the large number of injuries, rounds fired, weapons used, and overall length of the shootout, it is regarded as one of the longest and bloodiest events in US police history.[5] This incident would later lead to California enforcing a highly restrictive law on firearms, including the controversial "10-round magazine-only" law for most firearms owned by state residents.[6][7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout

[bemildred]

6. Symbionese Liberation Army's Shootout with LAPD

On May 17, 1974, Los Angeles police, acting on an anonymous phone tip, surrounded and assaulted a house occupied by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a group of left-wing militants. More than 400 LAPD officers exchanged 9,000 bullets with the members of the SLA during the hours of the siege, which was broadcast live by area TV stations.

http://www.realclearhistory.com/video/2012/05/17/symbionese_liberation_army_shoot-out_with_lapd.html