Cop-Killer Manhunt in SoCal

onewhippedpuppy · 02-11-2013, 12:58 PM

I haven't seen anything in OT about this topic, what's the vibe from those that are nearby? I know this is a large geographic area we are talking about, but this is a story worthy of a crime movie. An ex-military ex-cop with a hit list starts killing his targets and ambushing other cops, leading to a large regional manhunt, a $1M reward, cops shooting people out of mistaken identity, and protection details for his targets. Scary stuff.....

LAPD investigating hundreds of tips in manhunt for fugitive ex-officer Christopher Dorner | Fox News

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

Couple of threads in PARF....

jyl · jyl's Garage

Why did he go to Big Bear? I doubt many of his "targets" are there, any way few enough to be well protected. Black people aren't so common up there, it is a small community, he'll stand out. He torched his car? Hiding out in the mountains on foot, Rambo-style, seems unlikely to work for long.

Jrboulder · 02-11-2013, 02:17 PM

I suspect all the guys who look like LL Cool J have called in sick the last couple days.

Wouldn't want to get LAPD'd at lunch or something.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

maybe he went to Big Bear to throw the searchers off of his real hiding place

Crowbob · 02-11-2013, 02:34 PM

Or panicked.

ossiblue · 02-11-2013, 04:32 PM

Living close to Irvine where the young couple was killed in their parked car, I have followed this story closely.

The burning truck in Big Bear seemed to be a decoy, IMO. He was all over the map--literally--from L.A. to San Diego so why draw attention to yourself by burning your truck and in an area in which you are limited in movement and will stand out? No tracks found in snow around the truck. Likely stole another vehicle, or had one stashed there, and was long gone by the time the police reached his truck. The fact his axle was broken, however, tempered my certainty of this scenario. Regardless, he successfully pulled a tremendous amount of resources to look for a needle in a haystack--assuming he's not there. My money is on an attempt to get out of the country.

vash · vash's Garage

the man snapped.

hope he doenst come to the bay area..yikes. my money..he is in Mexico. and growing his hair out into a huge 1970 era afro.

onewhippedpuppy · 02-11-2013, 04:41 PM

Seems like the guy has a dangerous combo of smarts, crazy, and training. We're lucky that most criminals are morons, this guy doesn't seem to fit that mold. Thus far he's made the LAPD look like trigger happy fools. If he doesn't just attempt to run it seems like something that could get really ugly.

Baz · Baz's Garage

He didn't leave his truck there on purpose.

It broke down.

With his training he could disappear and never be found again.

Crowbob · 02-11-2013, 04:51 PM

The legend grows. Now he is supposed to have been trained in flying aeroplanes.

"Look! Up in the sky!"

He was headed up to a hide-out and/or to stash the truck in Big Bear. Truck broke. He hiked to the hideout, got another vehicle, returned to burn up the truck and drive away. His plan went awry. I think he was planning on hiding out in Big Bear to plan and carry out further assassinations but is now on the run instead.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Truck was stuck and/or axle broke on a rough mountain fire access road, near Big Bear Ski Resort. You can see here a google map showing where the truck was. http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/LAPD-Manhunt-Revenge-Plot-Christopher-Dorner-190213571.html

He abandoned a substantial quantity of weapons and gear in the truck, set the truck on fire, hiked away, returned using the same footprints, then hiked away for real. Doesn't sound like he left in another vehicle. How would he have stashed one there? If you just park a truck up on those mountain fire access roads, the risk of it being reported by hikers and jeepers, vandalized, etc is real. It is winter, 7.000 ft elevation, lows around 20F, snow on the ground.

Maybe he hiked to town, stole a car or got a ride or got on a ski bus and cleared out of the area. Seems there would have been sightings, at least reported after the fact. Again, you go up in Big Bear, maybe one of 100 people will be black, a black man not in ski gear will be noticed. If he's wearing fatigues (as he was earlier in the week) or carrying anything like a rifle case, all the more so.

Maybe he had a pre-arranged hideout nearby. How was he planning to hide the truck when he got there, and after it was disabled why burn the truck to attract attention. How nearby would his hideout be - you can bet helicopters with heat sensing equipment have been flying all over that area, and local hunters and rangers with dogs and backup have been searching the ground.

Maybe he is doing the survival thing, living hard on the ground with what he can carry. That won't be sustainable for long.

Speculation is the truck was abandoned in Big Bear as a clever ruse to draw attention there while he is elsewhere. That seems increasingly unlikely. I think something went wrong. Don't know if he is still in the mountains, or got down to the city. I am suspecting he doesn't have a load of weapons any more.

But what I still don't get is - why was he up in Big Bear in the first place. What was up there?

rusnak · 02-11-2013, 06:09 PM

He's a 300 pound Black Ninja, who can hide in Irvine, then in Big Bear. I mean c'mon people....be in awe already.

speeder · speeder's Garage

His physical characteristics, ie. his size and distinctive looks, make hiding in plain sight seem out of the question. On the other hand, SoCal LE agencies are chasing hundreds of false leads a day right now because of the $1M reward. We've got people calling in about brothers that look more like Dave Chapelle than Chris Dorner. It could actually work in his favor...nah, probably not. His own mother would probably drop a dime for $1M. I know I would.

dan88911 · 02-11-2013, 06:27 PM

So if they catch him alive.
1. He can't get a fair trial in LA.
2. He gets the death penalty sits on death role for 20 + yrs. writes a book etc.
3. He gets life. He's hero in the eyes of the other cons writes a book etc.
WTF.....shoot him on sight.

VaSteve · 02-11-2013, 06:30 PM

Eric Rudolph was in hiding for 5 years.

kaisen · 02-11-2013, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder

His physical characteristics, ie. his size and distinctive looks, make hiding in plain sight seem out of the question. On the other hand, SoCal LE agencies are chasing hundreds of false leads a day right now because of the $1M reward. We've got people calling in about brothers that look more like Dave Chapelle than Chris Dorner. It could actually work in his favor...nah, probably not. His own mother would probably drop a dime for $1M. I know I would.

LL Cool J is in hiding, fearing the LAPD SWAT team will take him out

speeder · speeder's Garage

Wow. That's scary.

Hydrocket · Hydrocket's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by dan88911

So if they catch him alive.
1. He can't get a fair trial in LA.
2. He gets the death penalty sits on death role for 20 + yrs. writes a book etc.
3. He gets life. He's hero in the eyes of the other cons writes a book etc.
WTF.....shoot him on sight.

This.

This is why I'm guessing the police "accidentally" shot the other people. They want this guy dead..they don't want him talking to a lawyer and having investigators digging around to see how corrupt LAPD really is.

Shoot first..ask questions later. FWIW, LAPD has shot almost as many people as the perp.

Jeff Higgins · 02-11-2013, 06:51 PM

Have any of you read his manifesto? If half of what he says is true, I can't say I blame the guy.

He claims they stole his good name, having persecuted him for speaking out against an ingrained, systemic pattern of police brutality and abuse dating all the way back to the Rodney King days. He claims that officers with pretty shady records of excessive use of force are now in positions to conduct internal investigations and render decisions regarding their fellow officers' use of force and other abuses. He charges rampant racism within the department. He asks for others (journalists) to investigate, providing names, dates, and case numbers for starting points.

He sounds like a man who has finally had enough and has been left with nothing to lose. His firing not only cost him his law enforcement career, but security clearance with the Navy and his career there as well. He claims it was all about keeping the corrupt good ol'boy (and gal) network in the LAPD, and that they have consistently banded together to take down the honest cops, as he claims to be.

Now I'm not saying this guy isn't just a psycho; maybe he is. But I think there is at least a chance he is a good man who has decided that since his professional life is over anyway, and he probably won't live to see another New Year, that maybe he's just going to go "all in" and push all of his chips into the middle of table. If what he says is true - that he is willing to give up his life to expose, finally, once and for all, the appalling behavior of some very bad cops - many in leadership positions - the I say "hooray for him".

Didn't Juvenal ask "who will guard the guards" ("who will police the police")? In modern day America, it's the police themselves. We have all heard of horrible injustices perpetrated by this self-investigating, self-policing policy. For the most part, they answer to no one. Maybe, just maybe, one man who had witnessed this from within the ranks, tried to rectify it and had his good name ruined for his efforts, is fighting back. If so, good for him. I hope he wins.