Several days after Christopher Dorner's death ended his standoff with authorities, some sympathizers have been expressing support for him online and on the street.
Dorner -- accused of the slayings of four people -- has gained some
supporters on the Web who have read his alleged manifesto and believe
its claims that he was unfairly fired by the Los Angeles Police
Department and was a victim of
racism.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside LAPD headquarters in downtown L.A. on Saturday afternoon in an event they said was organized through a
Facebook page called “I support Christopher Jordan Dorner.” The post announcing the protest advised attendees to “keep it PEACEFUL” and
to bring recording equipment.
PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer
The Facebook page states: “This is not a page about supporting the
killing of innocent people. It’s supporting fighting back against
corrupt cops and bringing to light what they do.”
Those gathered Saturday said they were protesting police corruption and the
way the massive manhunt for Dorner was conducted. Authorities said
Dorner appears to have died from a self-inflected gunshot wound after a
shootout with police in Big Bear on Tuesday, ending a deadly rampage
that stretched across Southern California.
Protesters also said they were appalled by police officers' mistakenly shooting
at passengers in two separate trucks in Torrance, wrongly believing
Dorner might be in the vehicles. One woman was shot in the back and is
still recovering.
FULL COVERAGE: Sweeping manhunt for ex-cop
The protesters emphasized that they did not condone the killings of which Dorner is accused.
Michael Nam, 30, stood at the corner of 1st and Main Streets with a
sign, painted by his girlfriend, showing a tombstone and the words “RIP
Habeas Corpus.” The tombstone was engulfed in flames.
Nam, of Lomita, said he was disturbed by the burning of a mountain
cabin near Big Bear where Dorner barricaded himself with a high-powered
sniper rifle, smoke bombs and a cache of ammo. The blaze started shortly
after police fired "pyrotechnic" tear gas into the cabin; the canisters
are known as "burners" because the intense heat they emit often causes a
fire.
WHO THEY WERE: Victims in the Dorner case
But authorities have maintained that the fire was not intentionally set.
Dorner, whose charred body was found in the cabin, appears to have died of a single gunshot wound to the head, authorities said.
“How the police handled this -– 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.”
TIMELINE: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer
Nam, a former Marine and a current member of the Army National Guard,
said he has combat experience from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said he has been in situations in which a combatant has been
barricaded and successfully waited until the person surrendered,
eventually getting “tired and coming out on their own.”
Nam said it was “pretty obvious” police wanted Dorner dead. “What I
saw was a complete disregard for the Bill of Rights,” Nam said.
San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, during a news conference
Friday, defended the tactics used by his agency in the shootout at the
mountain cabin, which left one of his deputies dead and another
seriously wounded.
“The bottom line is the deputy sheriffs of this department, and the
law enforcement officers from the surrounding area, did an outstanding
job,” he said. “They ran into the line of fire.”
As the protesters stood Saturday, drivers passing by honked, waved
and gave thumbs up. A handful of officers watched from police
headquarters across the street.
Nam said he spoke to the officers before the protest began about what
the protesters should do to keep the event peaceful. He said the
officers were respectful.
The protesters marched around the block, circling an intersection
near the department headquarters. They chanted, “LAPD, you are guilty.”
Signs expressed anger at police and support for Dorner.
“If you’re not enraged, you’re not paying attention,” one sign read.
“Why couldn’t we hear his side?”
“Clear his name! Christopher Dorner”
Liliana Alaniz, 40, came with her family -– her mother, sister,
nieces and daughters -– from Long Beach to join the protest, which she
said was her first.
“I really, really believe he was innocent in the firing case,” Alaniz said of Dorner.
Alaniz held a sign that read, “Trying to clear your name.”
Her daughter, Andrea Tovar, said Dorner “has his supporters.”
“Murder is never right, but neither is the law when it’s unjust,”
said Tovar, 18. She said police need to know they “can’t get away with
everything.”
ALSO:
Ex-mayor who gambled away $1 billion to pay restitution
Riverside officer wounded in Dorner manhunt is identified
Dorner probably died of self-inflicted gunshot, officials say
-- Hailey Branson-Potts
twitter.com/haileybranson
Photo: Protesters outside LAPD headquarters on Saturday. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times
