Several dozen protestors who think that former LA cop Chris Dorner was on to something when he accused the department of corruption and racism, rallied outside of police headquarters.
They say they deplored his methods but believe he was a “hero” for exposing malfeasance by police.
Protesters told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/11Ndm6i ) they didn’t support Dorner’s deadly methods, but objected to police corruption and brutality, and believed Dorner’s claims of racism and unfair treatment by the department. Many said they were angered by the conduct of the manhunt that led to Dorner’s death and injuries to innocent bystanders who were mistaken for him.
Michael Nam, 30, who held a sign with a flaming tombstone and the inscription “RIP Habeas Corpus,” said it was “pretty obvious” police had no intention of bringing Dorner in alive.
“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.”
During the hunt for Dorner, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called for Dorner’s surrender and said he didn’t want to see the suspect or anyone else injured.
Dorner was already believed to have killed three people when he was cornered Tuesday at the cabin near Big Bear Lake, and during the standoff shot and killed a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said.
Only after calls for surrender and use of milder tear gas did deputies launch pyrotechnic gas canisters into the cabin, and the subsequent fire was not intentional, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Dorner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the end of the standoff, sheriff’s officials said.
The 33-year-old has already inspired a burgeoning subculture of followers. While most don’t condone killing, they see him as an outlaw hero who raged against powerful forces of authority, and some even question whether he really died.
Tributes include a ballad titled “El Matapolicias,” or “The Police Killer,” penned by a Mexican crooner with lyrics paying homage to Dorner, and a YouTube clip showing excerpts from a video game titled “Christopher Dorner’s Last Stand Survival Game” whose opening frame declares him “A True American Hero.”
“I disagree with his methods but his heart is in the right place” is an epithet that should be on many a radical lefty’s tombstone. It takes a carefully compartmentalized mind to dismiss the murder of policemen as a “method” of getting one’s message out and then turning around and supporting that message.
Of course they don’t condone murder — says they. Separating the act of killing from the justification for it is pure sophistry — especially since it is unclear whether Dorner fabricated the justification after he had already killed two people.
Their “hero” is awash in blood. That they don’t see the gore on their own hands says more about their moral compass than could be revealed otherwise.
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