LAPD Officers Won’t Face Charges After Opening Fire on Delivery Women During Dorner Manhunt

Los Angeles Tiems ^ | 01/27/2016 | By Joseph Serna and Kate Mather•

[BenLurkin]

ight Los Angeles police officers who mistakenly opened fire on Los Angeles Times newspaper delivery women thinking they were rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner in 2013 will not be criminally charged, the L.A. County district attorney’s office announced Wednesday.

The officers opened fire in the predawn hours of Feb. 7, 2013, as Margie Carranza and her mother, Emma Hernandez, were slowly cruising though a Torrance neighborhood in a pickup truck delivering papers.

Law enforcement officers around the region were on edge during the massive manhunt for Dorner, the ex-LAPD officer who sought vengeance against police officials he blamed for his firing. Dorner ultimately killed four people and wounded three others before he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a shootout with police near Big Bear.

In Torrance, the LAPD officers were in the area protecting a captain believed to be one of Dorner's targets. The officers thought the women's truck matched the description of Dorner's vehicle.

Hernandez was shot twice. Carranza suffered cuts to her hand, likely from broken glass. Both women survived and received a $4.2-million legal settlement from the city.

[i_robot73]

Yep, ‘on edge’.

Almost feel sorry for any person that gets ‘trapped’ in that job. Oh, wait, this isn’t Communism and people can pick/choose their professions??

[Blue Jays]

LAPD is not particularly fond of oilcans, either!

[nascarnation]

But not black hispanics, right?

[Terry L Smith]

Once again, as I had seen my 8 years as an adult in SoCal, the LAPD gets off, again.

[heartwood]

Two little Latino ladies = one big black guy.

Newspaper hitting pavement = gunshot.

"The fear of Dorner was understandable and justified," the document said. "There is no evidence to suggest that the officers did not honestly believe that Dorner was in the vehicle, nor is there evidence to suggest that the officers did not honestly believe they were being fired upon."

By this reasoning, any citizen who HONESTLY believes he is being threatened or attacked by any plainsclothes officer, any no-knock warrant, any officer in dim light should be able to shoot first and walk free.

The ladies won't have to work again if they are sensible, thanks to the taxpayers, but maybe the officers should be sentenced to mow their grass, clean their pool, and pick up after their dogs, on a weekly basis for the next thirty years, as a kind of reminder. Along with a weekly "I am so glad I am a lousy shot and did not kill you" note.

[Vendome]

But they will fire 6 officers in Minneapolis?

[Chode]

SURE... Likely Story!!! POWPOWPOW bang shoot ACKACKACK pow bang BUDDABUDDABUDDA ACKACKACK bang pow shoot BURRRRRRRP... whoa Whoa WHOA, nice shootin Tex!

[Revel]

4.2 million from the taxpayers and the police are above the law. Once again. City tax is going up.

[Slings and Arrows]

The police investigated the police and found no wrongdoing by the police. What a surprise.

[unixfox]

And cops wonder why we don't trust them

And cops will wonder why when we start shooting back.

[Flick Lives]

I remember. The cops turned the truck into Swiss cheese. It’s a miricle the women survived. Wrong color truck, wrong model, and two women in the vehicle. A 100% non-match.

[Secret Agent Man]

You remember exactly right. I just couldnt believe the horridly gross negligence.

[Scrambler Bob]

And the DA showed the redacted police report on TV. Solid blacked out lines, all of them.

He said there wasn’t enough information for him to make a case that the cops weren’t protecting themselves or others from a fleeing felon, or some such blab....

Police report is not ‘public info’, he said.

[Blue Jays]

All you have written in your post above are reasonable views. The lack of "failsafes" with modern policing is breathtakingly astounding.

In the event of a wrong address / no-knock raid there is a good chance an innocent homeowner could be shot anyway so perhaps it is reasonable to shoot back so one can at least buy time and be screaming for them to STOP shooting.
Tough call.

[BenLurkin]

Saw that. Looked pretty bad.

[Ken H]

The officers opened fire in the predawn hours of Feb. 7, 2013,

So 3 frikken years later we get this whitewash.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

Those idiots should be fired. They are too stupid to be cops.

[kingu]

Ping for the Socal list.

[kingu]

There is no valid excuse for this. It was panicked shooting, it was in a populated neighborhood, and they hit multiple houses trying to mow down those delivery girls. Beyond, all the shoots to the BACK of the car which was retreating showed full intention of KILLING their target, and eliminates the excuse of self defense.

This really needs to be bumped up to the state or the feds for prosecution if the local DA can’t bring themselves to actually do the right thing.

[broken_clock]

Adding to this story is the Torrance police officer who on the same morning, rammed a black Ford Ranger and then shot three times at the driver who was returning from surfing .

The officer of course was found to be within the boundaries of police protocol...