Christopher Dorner Update: LAPD to re-examine former officer's 2008 termination
(CBS) - Over the weekend, Los Angeles Police Commissioner Charlie Beck announced he would re-examine the evidence in the disciplinary case that led to fugitive Christopher Dorner's termination from the LAPD in 2008.
PICTURES: Ex-LAPD cop accused of going on killing spree
"I do this not to appease a murderer," Beck said in statement issued Feb. 9. "I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do."
The LAPD has issued a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Dorner, who is accused of murdering three people, including a Riverside police officer, in a rampage that began on Feb. 3.
In a manifesto posted online, Dorner alleged that he was terminated from his job as a police officer in retaliation for reporting a superior officer for allegedly using excessive force on a mentally ill subject. CBS Los Angeles reports that a police advisory board found Dorner guilty of making false statements.
In the manifesto, Dorner pledges to wage "warfare" on members of the LAPD.
"This is my last resort," wrote Dorner. "The LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now lead [sic] to deadly consequences."
Journalist Joe Domanick, author of "To Protect and to Serve: The LAPD's Century of War in the City of Dreams," says that Beck is "getting in front" of Dorner's accusations of racism and unfair treatment by re-examining the circumstances surrounding the alleged killer's dismissal.
"Racism has haunted the LAPD in the past, internally and on the street," says Domanick.
But, he says, Beck and his predecessor, William Bratton, have made real strides in improving race relations and that the chief likely doesn't want to see those improvements damaged as a result of Dorner's claims.
