Chief: LA Officers in Manhunt Shooting Will Return

Chief: LA Officers in Manhunt Shooting Will Return LOS ANGELES February 6, 2014 (AP) By TAMI ABDOLLAH Associated Press Associated Press

Eight Los Angeles police officers who mistakenly riddled a pickup truck with bullets during a manhunt for cop-turned-killer Christopher Dorner last year will be allowed to return to the field after they get additional training, Police Chief Charlie Beck said.

"I have confidence in their abilities as LAPD officers to continue to do their jobs in the same capacity they had been assigned," Beck said in a department message to officers obtained Wednesday night by The Associated Press. "In the end, we as an organization can learn from this incident and from the individuals involved."

Both the chief and an independent commission found the 2013 shooting that injured two women violated department policy. The seven officers and one sergeant could have faced penalties including being fired.

Other discipline not outlined in the chief's message could be handed down, police Lt. Andrew Neiman said, but department policy prevents him from discussing it.

Attorney Glen Jonas, who represented the two women who won a $4.2 million settlement from the city, said he was concerned by the chief's decision not to terminate any of the eight officers.

"If either of the women had been killed, you can bet your bottom dollar somebody would be fired and maybe prosecuted," Jonas said. "A stroke of luck, firing more than 100 rounds and missing, should not mean the discipline is lighter."

I had never heard the story either. Those {expletives} should not be allowed to carry a gun and a badge, they ought to be behind bars.

Opening fire because they heard a sound? The h*ll you say! Within 15 minutes of any basic hunter safety course they will tell you never to "sound shoot." Whatever happened to that basic tenet of good firearms safety of "be sure of your target?" Where'd that go? These criminals heard a sound, assumed it was a gunshot and assumed they knew where it was coming from.

Then, just to compound their criminal behavior, even though they couldn't confirm gunfire or gunfire coming from the vehicle, and even though they couldn't see what they were shooting at in the vehicle they fired.

Based on rounds fired they all emptied their weapons - in a panic and in fear. You don't empty your weapon unless you're scared or in a prolonged firefight. These obviously were not measured shots engaging an enemy - there was no return fire. This was a panic, fear-driven spray and pray event. The hits on other vehicles and homes attests to that, these criminals weren't even aiming.

I hope those two ladies get millions from the department. In any settlement there are real damages and punitive damages. The real damages compensate the victim for what they've lost or been through. The punitive damages are a dis-incentive, a hard lesson to the guilty party and any others watching that you don't want to make the same mistakes. I hope these ladies each get the equivalent of say 3 to 5 years worth of the department's entire budget. Once the forces' insurance rates start skyrocketing, maybe they'll take their officers' behavior seriously. I would also go after the individual officers. I'd take their cars, their homes, every penny of savings and every dime they will ever make. They damn-near took innocent lives. They tried to kill but were fortunately inept at that part of their jobs too. They should be rotting in prison.

There was another person also shot at by California police during the manhunt for Dorner, but the story did not get wide attention.

Dorner manhunt: No charges against Torrance cop who shot at pickup

Dorner case mistaken identity shooting

David Perdue rests on the couch, next to his wife, Lyzzette, in their Redondo Beach home last February. His car was fired upon by Torrance police who mistook it for that of suspected killer Christopher Dorner. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times / February 9, 2013)

By Christine Mai-Duc This post has been corrected, as noted below.

January 15, 2014, 12:18 p.m.

A Torrance police officer who mistakenly shot at a man during the massive manhunt for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner will not face criminal charges, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to press charges against Officer Brian McGee, who opened fire at close-range last February on an innocent driver.

In a 16-page report explaining its decision, the district attorney’s office said McGee made a “reasonable mistake of fact” and the officer was “acting under an actual belief” that he needed to defend himself.

At the time, McGee and his partner were part of a massive dragnet across Southern California searching for Dorner, who had vowed to exact revenge against those he blamed for his firing at LAPD and named suspects he intended to kill.

Dorner, who authorities say killed four people, died several days later from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was cornered by police.

In the early morning of Feb. 7, LAPD officers were stationed in Torrance to protect an LAPD captain named in Dorner’s manifesto.

David Perdue, who was 38 at the time, was driving to pick up a friend and go surfing that morning when he was stopped by Torrance police and told to turn around.

He’d driven less than 300 feet when another Torrance police unit mistook Perdue, who is a slight white man and was driving a Honda Ridgeline, for Dorner, who was black and described as driving a Nissan Titan.

After turning around, Perdue’s truck was broadsided by another Torrance police cruiser, driven by McGee. The officer then shot at least three rounds at close-range into the Perdue’s driver side window.

Perdue was not shot, but his attorney said he sustained back and head injuries that left him unable to work.

The incident was one of two mistaken-identity shootings related to the Dorner manhunt.

That same morning, LAPD officers opened fire on a Latina mother and her adult daughter, who were delivering newspapers in a truck nearby.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-dorner-torrance-cop-no-charges-20140115,0,7490608.story

"David Perdue's truck was rammed and fired upon without warning.

"No criminal charges will be filed against a Torrance police officer who mistakenly opened fire on an innocent man’s pickup truck during the manhunt for cop-turned-killer Christopher Dorner.

"Officer Brian McGee rammed David Perdue’s truck with his patrol car, then fired three shots through the driver’s side window. Perdue wasn’t hit but his truck was riddled with bullets. He’s suing the city and officers involved in the shooting, saying he suffered a concussion when his truck’s airbag opened and that he has lingering physical and emotional problems."

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