Is ex-cop and fugitive Christopher Dorner dead? The full story.

 

I've been following this unfortunate story since it started and actually stayed up to watch the shootout live on CNN early this morning. Woke up this morning to hear that charred remains have been found in the mountain cabin where former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner had barricaded himself in. He is thought to have died in the burned out cabin. But no confirmation at this time.

The former Navy reservist launched a campaign to exact revenge against the Los Angeles Police Department for firing him. He threatened to kill police officers and their families, and actually managed to kill four - two officers and two family members of a police officer.

For those who have never heard the story, let me start from the beginning.

270-pound, 6-foot former Navy officer, Christopher Dorner, 33, joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 2005. Then on September 4th 2008, he was fired for filing a report concerning the conduct of his training officer, Teresa Evans. Christopher claimed in his report that Evans used excessive force - kicking a mentally ill suspect during an arrest in the face while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. The police didn't believe him, then they fired him. 4+ years later, the trained assassin became the subject of one of the largest manhunts in LAPD history. Continue reading

An internal review board claimed that Christopher had falsified his report in 2008 despite the fact that the kicking victim and the victim's father had corroborated Christopher's report.

No action was taken against officer Evans but Christopher was fired. He challenged his firing in court and lost. And then he decided to be the jury, the judge and the executioner by going after LAPD officers.

Before embarking on a series of shootings and eluding police, Christopher Dorner posted a detailed communication discussing his history, motivations, and plans on his facebook page. This was early February. He also posted a manifesto demanding a public admission by the LAPD that his firing was in retaliation for reporting excessive force. He blamed racism and corruption in the department for his removal and vowed to wage "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against LAPD officers and their families. He called it a "last resort" to clear his name and strike back at a department he said mistreated him.

On February 3rd, Christopher killed Monica Quan and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, in a parking lot in Irvine, south of Los Angeles. Quan was the daughter of a now-retired Los Angeles police officer who represented Christopher in a disciplinary hearing that led to his termination.

A few days later, Thursday February 7th, Christopher opened fire on four LAPD police officers. He killed one and wounded three.

On Sunday February 10th, the city of Los Angeles put up $1 million in reward money for help catching Christopher Dorner.

Christopher hid for days in an empty home next to a golf course on a residential street in the small town of Big Bear Lake. When two women arrived yesterday Tuesday February 12th to clean the property he tied them up, then stole their vehicle and drove out of town. He crashed that vehicle and carjacked a white pick-up truck.

Christopher was then confronted on a highway by police officers before fleeing on foot. He fled into the forest and barricaded himself inside an empty mountain cabin after a shootout with police. He killed one deputy in the shoot out.

Police officers broke the cabin's windows, pumped in tear gas and called for Dorner to surrender over a loudspeaker. When there was no reply they used a vehicle to tear down the cabin walls. A single gunshot was then heard before flames engulfed the building.

Early this morning, the police said they found charred remains in the cabin and they believe it's Christopher Dorner. Los Angeles Police spokesman Commander Andrew Smith said: "We believe he is dead. We believe he was in that cabin. We believe he was burned up in that cabin."

The charred remains is yet to be positively identified.

*The end*