Los Angeles, California
February 13, 2014
(Today's date)
May 8, 2013
(Original date)
*Denotes change or new infomation added to original blog
**UPDATE (Denotes NEW information added to blog after original publishing)
When Chris Dorner's body was finally recovered from the burned-out cabin in Big Bear, I think we all believed and concluded that he had died during the course of the barricade, shootout, and fire. But, how he died is nowhere near as conclusive, and in large part depends on what one chooses to believe from the media news and the County coroner. And, depending on what one believes, Dorner's death was either by suicide or murder. Here is what I believe : I believe that during the barricade and fire, law enforcement heard a single gunshot coming from the cabin. I believe the gunshot heard was a self-inflicted gunshot by Dorner. I believe the gunshot was to the head of Dorner. At that point, only Dorner knew for sure whether the gunshot actually killed him, and he cannot tell us, one way or the other. There is at least a possibility that the gunshot to the head did not kill him. That possibility is at least established by the example of former Congresswoman Gabrielle "Gabby" Gifford, who was shot in the head, near her eye, but miraculously survived and lived and continues to live and rehabilitate.
If the gunshot to the head did in fact kill Chris Dorner, then he died by suicide, and the coroner is correct in stating that he died from a single gunshot to the head.
However, if Dorner did not die from the gunshot to the head, then he died from the fire. And, since that fire was intentionally started, or, at least recklessly started (law enforcement knew that when they fired "burners"---"shorthand for a grenade-like cannister containing a more powerful type of tear gas than had been used earlier. Police use the nickname because of the intense heat the device gives off, which often causes a fire", L.A. Times, "As Dorner fired, tactics got tougher", February 15, 2013; "Seven burners deployed", "And we have a fire". Id.---that they would probably cause a fire, and, they did!), it was murder, at the hands of law enforcement. Not only was it murder because the fire was intentionally started, but it was murder because the fire was allowed to burn without any attempt to put it out. And this I observed first-hand. Allowing the fire to burn without making any attempts to put it out was barbaric. It was more barbaric than what Dorner had done, because law enforcement,the fire department, and EMTs have a professional, civic, and moral duty and responsibility to protect and save lives, regardless of the circumstances, i.e., they are held to a higher standard than the common criminal; and in the face of these responsibilities, they allowed the fire to burn without any attempts to save Dorner's life. Even if Dorner wasn't dead from the gunshot wound, law enforcement, the fire department, and EMTs made sure that he would die from the fire. This was barbaric. Furthermore, law enforcement had motives to murder Dorner: (1) Dorner had killed one or more of their own--i.e., revenge (the same thing that they were charging Dorner with), and (2) they did not want Dorner to live and go to trial, so that he could testify as to why he did what he did--it would put the LAPD and racial discrimination on trial.
I choose not to accept the coroner's report at face value, i.e., that Dorner died only from a gunshot to the head, especially where it could have been conclusively proven if Dorner's body had not burned to near ashes, and where public officials intentionally allowed the body to be burned to this degree. And, while I do not know if the gunshot wound killed Dorner, I do know that the fire killed him if the gunshot didn't. Therefore, I choose to believe that Dorner's death was at least, in part, caused by murder, i.e., intentionally allowing the fire to burn and kill him, if he wasn't dead already.
Thus, Chris Dorner died from either suicide, by way of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, or by murder, by way of public officials intentionally causing a fire in the cabin and thereafter, intentionally allowing the fire to burn and kill Dorner, if he wasn't dead from the shooting. No one really knows for sure, including the coroner.
THE DORNER REWARD--THERE SHOULD BE NO REWARD GIVEN
Although it appears that the Dorner reward is going to be allocated and split among four people, there ought not be a reward given at all. This is so because the reward was initially offered for Dorner's "capture and conviction", L.A. Times, "Four to split Dorner reward", May 8, 2013. And, there was no capture and conviction. A capture would have entailed the police actually physically apprehending Dorner and placing him under arrest. A conviction would have entailed the government putting Dorner on trial, aided by sufficient evidence from independent and outside sources to convict Dorner of murder or any of the other numerous crimes the government would have charged him with, had he lived and went to trial. Clearly, there was no capture and conviction; there was only a death, and the reward was not offered for the death of Chris Dorner. And, there is serious doubt whether the reward legally could have been offered for his death, at least without it being a reward for an assasination, not to mention the moral aspects. Furthermore, besides law enforcement officials or agencies, I doubt if any of the reward donors had the killing of Christopher Dorner in mind when they offered the reward. I believe most of the reward donors truly offered the reward to obtain information that would lead to the capture and conviction of Dorner. They intended for Dorner to be captured alive and face trial. Consequently, even though the information provided by the four people may have helped police "find" or discover Dorner, it did not lead to his capture and conviction. Therefore, the four people should not receive the reward. The reward was not offered for information leading to the "finding" of Chris Dorner, for if that were the case, then, clearly, the people providing the information should receive the reward, because the police certainly "found" Chris Dorner, based, at least in part, on the information they provided. But, I doubt if that much money would have been offered for simply "finding" Chris Dorner. In contract terms, there was no "meeting of the minds" between the reward donors and the information providers for the information providers to receive a reward for simply helping law enforcement to "find" Chris Dorner. The reward donors expected and intended that Chris Dorner would be captured and convicted with the information offered by the providers, and this wasn't done(in part because of police misconduct). Therefore, the terms of the contract were not met, and no one should receive the reward. The information providers should blame law enforcement for them not meeting the terms of the contract, because Dorner likely could have been captured, but for law enforcement's actions, which is why law enforcement is encouraging payment of the reward, notwithstanding Dorner was not "captured" or "convicted".
REWARD FOR A MURDER
Any reward given will probably be a reward for a murder. Because public officials intentionally ignited the fire that could have caused Dorner's death, and because the same officials allowed the fire to burn the cabin with Dorner's body in it, not knowing whether Dorner was dead or alive, Dorner was at least killed, in part, at the hands of public officials; because while we do not know conclusively that the gunshot actually killed Dorner before the fire, we do know conclusively that the fire killed him, and that conclusive killing was murder. Therefore, when the parties (and especially the white couple that Dorner allowed to live, when he could have intentionally or recklessly killed) accept the reward money, they should realize and understand that it is a reward for a murder.
**UPDATE--February 13, 2014
This update responds to an article in the L.A. Times, "Officers involved in gunfight with Dorner cleared", February 12, 2014. The San Bernardino County D.A. cleared all officers involved in the shootout with Christopher Dorner, so that none of them will face any criminal charges. SURPRISE!! Please! Did you think the D.A. would find anything else?
The LAPD was reponsible for all damage caused by Christopher Dorner, including the lives lost, and including Chris Dorner's life.
Notwithstanding the coroner's finding, according to the article, that "the massive burns to Dorner's body occurred after Dorner had killed himself", I'm not convinced. I believe the fire was just as much a cause of Dorner's death as any shot fired by Dorner himself. If the shot didn't immediately kill Dorner (and no one, including the coroner, knows for sure), then the fire absolutely did. I don't accept the coroner's finding of just "massive burns" rather than "burned beyond recognition" or near that.
The officers responsible for starting that fire are also responsible in part for Dorner's death. And, if Dorner could have been taken alive, that is, if the self-inflicted shot did not actually kill him, but merely wounded him; then, the fire-starting officers committed murder, with the requisite intent to do so.
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