Former LA police officer sought in murder of women's basketball coach
IRVINE, Calif. -- Police said Wednesday night they are looking for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in the shootings of a Cal State Fullerton basketball coach and her fiance, and they say the man is armed and dangerous.
Former LAPD officer and U.S. Navy reservist Christopher Jordan Dorner is a suspect in the killings of Monica Quan, 28, and Keith Lawrence, 27, who were found shot to death in their car at a parking structure Sunday night, Irvine police Chief David L. Maggard said at a news conference.
Monica Quan and her fiance Keith Lawrence were found shot to death in their car. (AP) Maggard says Dorner implicated himself in the killings with a multi-page manifesto he wrote that was obtained by police, but no further details were given on the manifesto or its contents.
Police do not know Dorner's whereabouts, and authorities were seeking the public's help in finding the suspect.
"We have strong cause to believe Dorner is armed and dangerous," Maggard said, adding anyone who sees the suspect should immediately call 911.
Police said he may be driving a blue, 2005 Nissan Titan pickup truck and his last known address was in La Palma, Calif.
Dorner was an LAPD officer until his dismissal in 2009.
According to documents from a court of appeals hearing in October 2011, Dorner was fired from the LAPD after he made a complaint against his field training officer, Sgt. Teresa Evans, saying in the course of arrest she kicked suspect Christopher Gettler, a schizophrenic with severe dementia.
Following an investigation, Dorner was fired for making false statements.
Richard Gettler, the schizophrenic man's father, gave testimony that supported Dorner's claim. After his son was returned on July 28, 2007, Richard Gettler asked "if he had been in a fight because his face was puffy" and his son responded that he was kicked twice in the chest by a police officer, he testified.
Maggard said the LAPD and FBI are assisting in the search.
The chief took no questions during the brief news conference.
Quan, an assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton, is the daughter of a former LAPD captain, Randal Quan, who retired in 2002 and later worked as chief of police at Cal Poly, Pomona.
Lawrence, her fiance, was a public safety officer at the University of Southern California.
Autopsies showed both were killed by multiple gunshot wounds in the parking structure at their condominium in Irvine, Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said earlier Wednesday.
The killings brought mourning and disbelief at three college campuses, Fullerton, USC, and Concordia University, where the two met when they were student athletes.
A Riverside police officer was shot to death today and one was wounded by a gunman believed to Christopher Jordan Dorner, the fired Los Angeles Police Department Officer wanted for the revenge slayings of a college basketball coach from Walnut and her fiance in Irvine, police said.
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
A multi-agency manhunt is under way in California after police say the former Los Angeles police officer suspected in the murders of a college basketball coach and her fiancé last weekend is following through on his vow to kill police officers after he opened fire Wednesday night on three police officers, killing one, KTTV.com reported.
"In this case, we're his target," Sgt. Rudy Lopez from the Corona Police Department said at a press conference.
The suspect has been identified as Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, and he is considered extremely dangerous, authorities say. The killings appear to be retribution for his 2009 termination from the Los Angeles Police Department for making false statements, authorities say.
The first shooting Wednesday night occurred in the city of Corona and involved two LAPD officers working a security detail, said Sgt. Alex Baez of the LAPD's Newton division. One officer was grazed.
The LAPD's elite Metropolitan squad was sent to protect others mentioned in Dorner's manifesto.
Later, two officers on routine patrol in the neighboring city of Riverside were ambushed in their patrol car at a stop light, said Riverside Lt. Guy Toussaint. One died and the other was in surgery.
The Riverside officers shot overnight were not actively looking for Dorner, authorities said.
Police don't know where Dorner is, but think he left the area, Toussaint said.
"We're asking our officers to be extraordinarily cautious just as we're asking the public to be extraordinarily cautious with this guy. He's already demonstrated he has a propensity for shooting innocent people. We can't provide a lot of information now because we're trying to capture him," said Cmdr. Andrew Smith. "We don't know where he is. We're looking for the public's help to locate this guy. Anybody who sees him or believes they see him or his vehicle should call 911."
Local police are taking an abundance of caution. Corona police have suspended its motorcycle patrol and all officers are teamed up with partners.
Police say at the time of his firing Dorner was represented by the father of one of his victims and posted a multi-page manifesto on his Facebook page about his termination.
"I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, (so) I am terminating yours," Dorner's manifesto reportedly stated. Randy Quan's name was mentioned in the note. He represented Dorner at the hearing that led to Dorner’s firing. Quan's daughter, Monica Quan and her fiancé were shot dead in an Irvine parking garage Sunday night.
In the manifesto, Dorner wrote that Quan "suppressed the truth," which would lead to deadly consequences, The Orange County Register reported.
"Self preservation is no longer important to me. I do not fear death as a I died long ago on 1/2/09," Dorner wrote, according to the report. The paper said he was referencing the day he was fired from the LAPD. "I was told by my mother that sometimes bad things happen to good people."
Police said the U.S. Navy reservist may be driving a blue 2005 Nissan Titan pickup truck. His last known address was in La Palma in northern Orange County near Fullerton.
Dorner was with the department from 2005 until 2008, when he was fired for making false statements.
Autopsies showed that Quan and Lawrence were killed by multiple gunshot wounds in the parking structure at their condominium in Irvine, Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said earlier Wednesday.
Quan, 28, was an assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton. Lawrence, 27, was a public safety officer at the University of Southern California.
Quan's father, a former LAPD captain who became a lawyer in retirement, represented Dorner in front of the Board of Rights, a tribunal that ruled against Dorner at the time of his dismissal, LAPD Capt. William Hayes told The Associated Press Wednesday night.
Randal Quan retired in 2002. He later served as chief of police at Cal Poly Pomona before he started practicing law.
According to documents from a court of appeals hearing in October 2011, Dorner was fired from the LAPD after he made a complaint against his field training officer, Sgt. Teresa Evans. Dorner said that in the course of an arrest, Evans kicked suspect Christopher Gettler, a schizophrenic with severe dementia.
Following an investigation, Dorner was fired for making false statements.
Richard Gettler, the schizophrenic man's father, gave testimony that supported Dorner's claim. After his son was returned on July 28, 2007, Richard Gettler asked "if he had been in a fight because his face was puffy" and his son responded that he was kicked twice in the chest by a police officer
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
According to documents from a court of appeals hearing in October 2011, Dorner was fired from the LAPD after he made a complaint against his field training officer, Sgt. Teresa Evans, saying in the course of arrest she kicked suspect Christopher Gettler, a schizophrenic with severe dementia.
Quoted Text
Former LAPD officer and U.S. Navy reservist
so after all of this history.....he was 'still' allowed to carry a gun?
was he wronged by his training officer?
am i reading this wrong? did the LAPD 'know' he was a schizo?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
His manifesto probably contains some serious accusations against the department and those who worked to fire him.
He's gone Rambo on them. He believes they wronged him and destroyed his career.
This would suggest that his complaint was valid, but they backed the training officer and fired him.
And yes, I think you are reading the story a bit incorrectly.
The person Dorner accused the training officer of kicking was the schizophrenic.
"The schizophrenic man's father, gave testimony that supported Dorner's claim."
Wrongful termination felt like his life had ended. He feels he has nothing to lose and revenge to gain.
He figures he will send a message not to railroad the good guy. It doesn't matter what the reality of the events leading up to this are, or if he is seeing things exactly as they happened. The fact that he believes they have wrongfully committed the acts against him, self justifies his revenge against them. This man is likely well trained and well armed. It is likely he will take more lives before before he is captured or killed. He no longer cares if his victims are the actual persons that have wronged him, but they will all likely be persons that will cause pain to those who actually did wrong him.
Sending a message by killing the innocent in order to cause pain to your real enemy is very popular these days. It used to be called terrorism, but nowadays it's acceptable standard operating procedure.
Now, if the persons who actually did wrong Dorner came forward and publicly stated that Dorner was in fact wrongfully terminated. They could possibly save the lives of people they care about.
BREAKING: LAPD Reportedly Shot Two Women By Mistake
By Nicole Flatow on Feb 7, 2013 at 1:21 pm
Los Angeles police reportedly shot and injured two women delivering newspapers by accident while on a search in Torrance, Calif. for a former fellow officer who is suspected in several shootings. A second shooting was also reported involving Torrance police officers, but there were no known injuries.
The Los Angeles Times reports: The women, shot in the 19500 block of Redbeam Avenue, were taken to area hospitals, Torrance police Lt. Devin Chase said. They were not identified. One was shot in the hand and the other in the back, according to Jesse Escochea, who captured video of the victims being treated.
It was not immediately known what newspapers the women were delivering. Television images showed the blue pickup riddled with bullet holes and what appeared to be newspapers lying in the street alongside.
Local, state and federal authorities are involved in a massive search for Christoper Jordan Dorner, 33, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who threatened “unconventional and asymmetrical warfare” against police in an online manifesto, and was suspected of shooting three police officers, one of whom died, early Thursday in Riverside County.
Dorner also is suspected of killing a couple in Orange County earlier this week.
The officers involved in the shooting were reportedly on protective detail for an officer named in Dorner’s manifesto. Both shootings occurred while the victims were in their vehicles, which officers said looked like the vehicle Dorner is suspected to be driving.
During a press conference today, a representative from LAPD said Dorner has multiple weapons at his disposal, including assault rifles.
This guy is pretty fast, he kills 2 in Irvine, his truck is found 88 miles northeast of that location, and his wallet is found at the San Diego Airport 150 miles south of the truck.
Fugitive ex-cop sent parcel to CNN, Anderson Cooper tweets February 7, 2013 | 4:08 pm
CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper said via Twitter on Thursday that he received a parcel from the former Los Angeles police officer wanted in connection with a series of shootings that have left three people dead and two wounded.
Cooper shared the news on the social media website around 3 p.m.
“Learned today suspect Christopher Dorner sent me a parcel at CNN,” Cooper tweeted. “Inside was a note, DVD, and a coin shot thru with bullet holes.”
Cooper did not immediately release any additional information.
Meanwhile, in California, authorities were searching the mountainous terrain near Big Bear after the discovery of a burning pickup truck that law enforcement said is linked to Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33.
“There is no information that there were any shots fired locally,” said John McMahon of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The mountain community locked down schools and closed the nearby Bear Mountain Resort as television helicopters hovered overhead, showing footage of a SWAT team walking through the woods, rifles drawn.
Sean Jacques, director of loss prevention for Big Bear Mountain Resorts, said that after the burning truck was discovered on a forest service road, local law enforcement told resort officials to keep an eye out for Dorner and provided a description of the suspect.
“They said maintain vigilance,” he said.
Several law enforcement agencies are involved in the massive manhunt for Dorner and alerts have been issued all across California and in Nevada. The Los Angeles Police Department had dispatched units across the region to protect at least 40 officers and others named in a rambling online manifesto that law enforcement officials attribute to Dorner.
Dorner, who was fired from the LAPD in 2009, is suspected of shooting three police officers, one of whom died, in Riverside County early Thursday.
Dorner also is suspected of killing a couple in Orange County earlier this week who were found shot in a car. One of the victims was the daughter of a former LAPD captain named in the purported manifesto.
Dorner was believed to be carrying multiple weapons, including an assault rifle.
Law enforcement authorities said they were concerned about Dorner's military background and weapons training. The lengthy online message allegedly written by the former Navy Reserve lieutenant threatened "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against police.
Dorner received awards for his expertise with a rifle and pistol, according to military records obtained by The Times. He received an Iraq Campaign Medal and was a member of a mobile inshore undersea warfare unit.
Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, calling the attack a "cowardly ambush," said Dorner is suspected of opening fire with a rifle about 1:30 a.m. Thursday as he pulled up to two police officers waiting at a traffic light.
The attack was carried out about 20 minutes after Dorner wounded an LAPD officer in a shooting in nearby Corona, police said.
Early Thursday, two women delivering newspapers in Torrance were shot by Los Angeles police who were guarding an officer named in the manifesto.
The women, shot in the 19500 block of Redbeam Avenue, were taken to area hospitals, Torrance police Lt. Devin Chase said. One suffered a minor wound, and the other was struck twice and listed in stable condition, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told reporters.
"Tragically," Beck said, "we believe this is a case of mistaken identity."
Proof that citizens need guns to protect themselves from police AND deranged soldiers. LA has pretty strict gun laws, and law abiding citizens are sitting ducks. You notice he didn't go shoot the well armed street gangs.
Proof that citizens need guns to protect themselves from police AND deranged soldiers. LA has pretty strict gun laws, and law abiding citizens are sitting ducks. You notice he didn't go shoot the well armed street gangs.
Warning: All black men are advised to not be seen outside.