DORNER MANHUNT: Officials worry over support for fugitive ex-LAPD officer
A Facebook page dedicated to supporting accused mass murderer and ex-police officer Christopher Dorner had more than 5,000 likes as of Monday, Feb. 11. "HAVE RESPECT FOR A MAN WHO IS WILLING TO DIE FOR SOMETHING INSTEAD OF LIVING FOR NOTHING," the page read.
BY JEFF HORSEMAN STAFF WRITER February 11, 2013; 04:12 PM
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Someone has posted fliers in Riverside bearing a picture of suspected killer Christopher Dorner in a camouflage jacket above the word ?HOPE,? echoing the iconic image that emerged during Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
Riverside spokeswoman Cindie Perry wrote in an email Monday, Feb. 11, that public works employees have removed about 12 of the Dorner posters, which featuring a smiling Dorner in camouflage, from the median of Magnolia Avenue between La Sierra Avenue and Pierce Street, on the city's west end.
That intersection is about eight miles away from Magnolia and Arlington Avenue, where Riverside police Officer Michael Crain was gunned down and another officer was severely wounded early Thursday.
Also, posters were removed from a commercial sign on Jefferson Street near Lincoln Avenue, where 32 of the images were arranged ?much like a quilt,? Perry wrote. Jefferson is about two miles from where Crain was killed.
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Riverside Councilman Steve Adams said he believes the fliers are ?a prank of somebody with a warped sense of humor. Clearly it?s somebody trying to get attention.?
The posters aren?t the only sign that some people are trying to make a counterculture hero out of Dorner. Facebook and Twitter are full of comments from people expressing their views that the man suspecting of killing three people ? Crain and an Irvine couple ? is standing up to a corrupt, racist system of law enforcement.
In an email, Riverside Assistant Police Chief Christopher Vicino said there?s a ?small percentage of people? who dislike law enforcement, the government or both.
?We also realize that the majority of people respect and support law enforcement,? he said. ?This was never more apparent with all of the community support and empathy that the Police Department has received and continues to receive both locally and nationally.?
On Facebook, pages such as ?Christopher Jordan Dorner a Rebel? have started to advocate for the former Los Angeles city police officer who authorities said posted an online manifesto vowing to wage war against LAPD officers and their families.
Dorner, who remains at large, was fired in 2009 after officials said he made false accusations of police brutality against another officer. He is the suspect in the killing of an Irvine couple, the wounding of an LAPD officer in Corona, the slaying of Riverside Officer Michael Crain and the wounding of another Riverside cop.
Many of those supporting Dorner say they identify with his manifesto. In it, Dorner claims the LAPD is plagued by racism and injustice, and he blames the department for destroying his life.
The ?rebel? Facebook page described Dorner as: ?A REAL REBEL WITH A CAUSE! THIS MAN IS STANDING UP FOR A CAUSE HE WILL BE REMEMBERED ? HAVE RESPECT FOR A MAN WHO IS WILLING TO DIE FOR SOMETHING INSTEAD OF LIVING FOR NOTHING.?
Another pro-Dorner Facebook page reads: ?I am a man of integrity and honor, help me expose and stop the LAPD.? That page had more than 5,300 ?Likes? as of Monday, Feb. 11.
Many posts attack the LAPD as a racist organization and refer to the 1991 police beating of Rodney King, which sparked rioting a year later.
Other comments criticize the shooting by LAPD officers of two women in Torrance who were delivering newspapers early Thursday morning. The officers apparently mistook the women?s truck for Dorner?s vehicle.
One theory circulating on Facebook is that the Dorner manhunt is a government conspiracy intended to justify the taking of firearms from citizens.
Twitter also is filled with comments from Dorner supporters. Responding to a tweet asking for the community?s help finding Dorner, someone replies: ?Ahahahahahaha NOPE.?
One commenter called Dorner ?a (expletive) revolutionary ? If you haven?t already read the manifesto! (Expletive) will give you goosebumps. I hope this man goes down in history as an American hero.?
Pro-Dorner comments have also been posted on YouTube videos from The Press-Enterprise related to the Dorner story. The Press-Enterprise has disabled comments on some videos and stories because they don?t meet publishing standards.
Some Facebook and Twitter users have expressed outrage at support for Dorner.
?Internet users offer sick support for ex-cop and alleged murderer Christopher Dorner ? SOCIETY IS SICK!? read one tweet.
Mitchell Rosen, a family counselor who practices in Corona and Temecula, said online support for Dorner is often a reflection of people?s frustration with police in their own lives.
Tweeting and using Facebook is ?a third party way? of expressing that anger, said Rosen, a columnist for The Press-Enterprise. ?It pretty much gives you a veneer of insulation.?
Dorner ?certainly is not a hero,? Rosen added
Self, would you do that ?
