By Michael Martinez and Paul Vercammen,
San Bernardino County Sheriff SWAT
team members return to the command post at Bear Mountain in Big Bear
Lake, California, on Friday, February 8, after heavy snow hindered the
manhunt for ex-LAPD cop Christopher Jordan Dorner. Dorner is the subject
of a massive manhunt and is accused of killing one police officer and
wounding two others, as well as killing the daughter of his police union
representative and her fiance on Sunday.
HIDE CAPTION
Ex-cop at center of California manhunt
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The Los Angeles police chief says he ordered the review to reassure the public
- "It's just a matter of time," says an assistant police chief about catching Christopher Dorner
- Dorner is sought in three California killings
- Authorities are searching for him in the San Bernardino Mountains
Dorner wrote a manifesto declaring war on police
in retaliation for being fired from his job as an LAPD officer and
losing an appeal to be reinstated. He promised to bring "unconventional
and asymmetrical warfare" to officers and their families, calling it the
"last resort" to clear his name and strike back at a department that he
says mistreated him.
"I do this not to appease
a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department
is transparent and fair in all the things we do," Los Angeles Police
Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement.
He said police would also look into any allegations made in the manifesto.
Beck addressed what he
described as the "ghosts of the LAPD's past," and said that one of his
biggest worries was that those ghosts would be "resurrected by Dorner's
allegations of racism."
"As hard as it has been
to change the culture of the Los Angeles Police Department, it has been
even more difficult to win and maintain the support of the public. As
much as I value our successes in reducing crime, I value even more our
gains in public confidence," he said.
The development came as police continued their search for Dorner, 33, in snowbound mountains. Bundled
up in winter gear, teams returned to the pine forests and trails
surrounding Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.
As the dragnet entered
its third day, questions continued Saturday about whether Dorner was
still in the area, but police in California, Nevada and Arizona remained
on alert.
Scouring the terrain by
land and air, police were using helicopters, snowcats and armored
personnel carriers with snow chains. The search resumed after overnight
temperatures dipped into the teens.
Officers trudged through
knee-high snow with rifles at the ready. Patrols again visited homes
Saturday in Big Bear Lake, knocking on doors and peeking into windows.
They had checked on the community's 400 homes Thursday.
"I don't think he is up
here, to be quite honest with you, in this quite brutal weather,"
resident Justin Owen said. He was shoveling snow out of his driveway
when a police team asked him if he had seen suspicious activity.
No, he told them.
Unlike his son, father
Ed Owen believed Dorner could be hiding in any of the houses that serve
as second residences in the mountains and are often vacant, frequently
the case where families have owned the property for decades and lose
interest in it, he said.
"I would guess the
occupancy rate on my block is just 10%," Ed Owen told CNN. "If you
really wanted to scout things out, you probably could find a home that
is never occupied and hide in there."
Not far from the manhunt, skiers and snowboarders enjoyed an ideal day for winter recreation in the resort community.
"The possibility exists
that he is here, somewhere in the forest, so we're going to keep looking
... until we determine that he's not here," said Cindy Bachman, a
spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
Calamitous dragnet
The manhunt in Southern California hasn't been without calamity.
Los Angeles police
mistakenly shot and wounded two persons Thursday in Torrance as they
drove a blue pickup truck resembling Dorner's vehicle. Torrance police
also fired upon another blue pickup the same day, but no one was injured
in that incident, a law enforcement source said.
The Los Angeles officers
involved in the wounding of innocent civilians were put on paid
administrative leave, police spokeswoman Rosario Herrera said Saturday. A
day earlier, the LAPD had said the officers weren't put on such leave.
Unconfirmed sightings of
the 270-pound, 6-foot Dorner have been reported as far away as Las
Vegas and the California-Mexico border, according to reports.
LAPD spokesman Andrew Smith urged Dorner to turn himself in.
"That would be the best
resolution for this whole thing right now," he said. "No one else has to
be shot. No one else has to be injured. No one else has to die. He can
turn himself in anywhere, and he'll be taken into custody, and he'll be
able to get his side of the story out."
Dorner, who also served
in the Navy, is suspected of killing two people in Irvine, California,
on Sunday and shooting Thursday at three Los Angeles-area police
officers, one of whom later died.
One of the victims of
the Irvine killings, Monica Quan, was the daughter of the retired police
officer who represented Dorner in his efforts to get his job back,
police said.
According to a criminal
complaint, someone claiming to be Dorner called the retired officer
after the killing, telling him he "should have done a better job of
protecting his daughter."
The call was traced to
Vancouver, Washington, but the complaint went on state that it was
unlikely Dorner was in Washington at the time of the call.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa described Dorner as "a very sick individuaI."
"There is absolutely
nothing that was done to this individual that would rationalize in any
way the murder of three innocent people," Villaraigosa told CNN on
Saturday. "The notion that somehow this deranged individual be given any
credence boggles my mind."
For now, the focus of
the manhunt remains on Big Bear and the surrounding mountains, where
Dorner's burned-out pickup was found Thursday.
The truck had a broken
axle, which would have prevented the truck from moving, and footprints
appear to show Dorner doubled back into the community, according to a
source with knowledge of the investigation.
It was unclear where Dorner may have gone from there or by what means, the source said.
Armed and dangerous
Guns found in the truck
also were burned, but authorities believe Dorner may have as many as 30
weapons with him, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The source was not authorized to release details to the media.
Dorner, who retired from
the Navy Reserve on February 1 as a lieutenant, was trained in
counterinsurgency and intelligence, the source said.
It is also believed that
he received flight training during his time in the Navy. Though the
exact nature of his flying skills are not known, the Transportation
Security Administration issued an advisory.
"While there is no
specific information at this time that Dorner is considering using
general aviation, TSA requests that operators use an increased level of
awareness concerning any suspicious activity during the coming days," it
said.
Meanwhile, Bob Dow,
supervisor at the airport at Big Bear Lake, dismissed the possibility
that Dorner left that airport on a plane, saying the airport monitors
all planes coming in and flying out.
Military bases on alert
Navy installations throughout California and Nevada were on heightened alert, a U.S. military official told CNN.
"Security personnel are
on the lookout," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The measure was ordered late Thursday by Rear Adm. Dixon Smith,
commander of the Navy's southwest region.
The official, who was
not authorized to release details to the media, declined to discuss
security procedures, but said the move was made after it became clear
that Dorner gained access this week to the Naval Base at Point Loma and
stayed in a motel there.
Two sailors reported
Dorner approached them Wednesday and spoke with them for about 10
minutes at a San Diego coastal riverine unit -- a quick, small boat
fighting team -- where Dorner served in 2006. As a Navy reservist,
Dorner held security jobs at that unit.
The Navy is not certain whether Dorner still possesses any military identification he might try to use to enter a facility.
Investigators said they
believe Dorner tried to steal a boat from someone in San Diego,
according to the LAPD. Dorner "was not successful, and he fled the
location," LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said.
A wallet containing Dorner's identification and an LAPD detective's badge was found near the San Diego airport, police said.
Authorities speculate
that Dorner, who is familiar with LAPD policies and procedures, may be
trying to lead authorities astray by planting clues.
"He understands the way
police departments work: the policies, the procedures, the response
times,'" said Brandon Webb, a security expert and editor of SOFREP.com, the Special Operations Forces Situation Report.
CNN
