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LuckyGuy's avatar

Are C. Dorner's actions and detailed manifesto why LAPD is investigating his complaints now?

Asked by LuckyGuy (43867points) February 10th, 2013

Is the LAPD trying to clear its name?
I know nothing of this case – just what I have read and seen on TV. I am also not condoning his actions. I am just wondering whether his complaints are all true.
Out of curiosity, I clicked on Dorner’s uncensored manifesto and started reading. Shocking. If all of it is true, he certainly has suffered injustices and incredible frustration over his career. He gives details: names, dates, witnesses, document numbers, etc., for events and cover-ups by the LAPD. He lists names, service records, and ID numbers of incidents where he was labelled a “whistle blower” and punished for his actions due to the libelous testimony of others.
In his manifesto, he begs journalists to investigate his claims and initiate Freedom of Information actions to verify the data.
Are LAPD shredders running now?

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10 Answers

elbanditoroso's avatar

I’m sure it is. They blew him off for years (he’s a whiner, malcontent, let’s sweep him under the rug) with the thought that they could get away with it the same way that they have for 50 years.

But this guy surprised them with his tenacity.

But what does it matter? Whether LAPD finds that he was poorly treated for 5 years is totally meaningless. Dorner murdered a bunch of people. Doesn’t really matter what the background is – he committed aggravated murder and he will be spending the rest of his life in prison (if he doesn’t off himself first).

So whether his complaints were justified or not, going on a revenge killing spree isn’t going to mean a thing.

LuckyGuy's avatar

@elbanditoroso No question. The guy is an unstable nutjob who will end the ordeal on his terms. Did you read any of his document? It is incredible. Or maybe not so incredible. I’d love to see Snopes tackle it – before the LAPD has a chance to modify the records.
Clearly he is a capable guy who feels he was unjustly pushed into a position where he has nothing to lose – a.dangerous combination.

Linda_Owl's avatar

I have no idea if the things listed in his ‘Manifesto’ are valid or not… but I did do some research on the LAPD & I found that they have approximately 9,247 Police Officers & out of that number, only 1,192 are black Police Officers. To me this says that Racism is still running rampant thru the LAPD. But this fact does NOT excuse Dorner of murdering three people.

SuperMouse's avatar

I read most of the manifesto and I have a couple of thoughts.

First, I was raised in Los Angeles and lived there throughout the whole Rodney King incident and Daryl Gates tenure as police chief. I listened to all the news stories and exposes about the LAPD and there is no doubt in my mind that a culture of anger and macho exists in the department and officers who abuse suspects have a tendency to be treated as heroes rather than problems.

On the flip side, it sounds like officer Dorner refuses to see himself as anything but a leaf at the mercy of the wind and nothing more than a victim. He also readily admits that when he was taunted with the n-word in elementary school he felt completely justified in responding with violence and could not understand why that wasn’t allowed. No matter what his manifesto says, he is a murderer and no matter what he witnessed or how the LAPD does things, his murder spree is not justifiable.

SuperMouse's avatar

To answer the specific question, yes I do think the LAPD is investigating his allegations more seriously now precisely because of his horrific actions. I think it is outrageous that it took his brutally murdering a young woman to make it happen.

LuckyGuy's avatar

@SuperMouse As you could see from his manifesto he is quite specific with dates and easily verifiable facts. If what he wrote is true, he apparently raised concerns to the next level but was thwarted and branded a traitor. He then raised the grievance to a higher level and, again, was thwarted. He sought justice at the next higher level and was thwarted again by people who willingly committed perjury to cover their friends.
He lost everything: job, reputation, name.
People with nothing to lose are very dangerous indeed.

None of this justifies the killings. Wouldn’t it be ironic if his actions were responsible for finally cleaning out the bad guys in the department?
Frankly I’d rather see outsiders do the investigation.

SuperMouse's avatar

@LuckyGuy it would be ironic, incredibly sad, and set an awful precedent; all one has to do to get the LAPD to listen to a list of grievances is commit murder then go on the lam. How tragic. I agree with you that outsiders should do the investigation.

LuckyGuy's avatar

Frankly, I am surprised there aren’t more cases like this. A few years back several large companies screwed their long term employees out of their pensions by declaring bankruptcy while at the same time giving the top dogs obscene payouts.
They know they could get away with it because they knew their employees, the shareholders, and the SEC were powerless. I would not have been surprised if people who lost everything, and had nothing to lose, decided to go after the big boys – one way or the other.
Publicly they would have been pooh-poohed. But, privately, I think they would have been cheered.

It reminds me a little of the movie Falling Down

LuckyGuy's avatar

@Brian1946 It’s over.
Now let’s see if they investigate his claims against:
Ofcr. Teresa Evans /now a Sergeant), for kicking a suspect (Christopher Gettle)
Racist remarks by Officers Hermilio Buridios IV and Marlon Magana (ultimately suspended for 22 days but collected pay) and Det Ty for opening a case in retaliation.
etc.

I won’t go through it all. I hope an aspiring journalist will pick up the ball and run with it. I figure there was a reason a smart, capable guy like Dorner went over the edge. It is worth investigating.

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