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The man at the center of a massive manhunt in California is potentially armed with armor-piercing ammunition and semi-automatic rifles, could likely hit a target more than 50 yards away, thinks like a police officer and, perhaps most troublesome, is not abiding by any rules. "He understands the criminal investigation process," said Robert Arabian, chief executive of Covered 6, a Simi Valley, Calif.-based firearms and tactical training group that instructs local law enforcement agencies. "He poses a real problem." Hundreds of law enforcement officers are combing vast swaths of southern California for Dorner, 33, after police say he killed three people, including a Riverside, Calif., police officer, and injured another officer, in shooting ambushes the past week.
In an 11-page manifesto he posted online, Dorner alluded to using his tactical training to carry out more killings. "I will utilize every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training I've been given," it read. "You have misjudged a sleeping giant." At a press conference Thursday, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck stressed the challenges of hunting someone with Dorner's background. This image provided by the Irvine Police Department shows Christopher Dorner from Jan. 28 surveillance video at an Orange County, Calif., hotel. "He knows what he's doing," he said. "We trained him. He was also a member of the Armed Forces. It is extremely worrisome and scary."
Law enforcement officials believe it is unlikely that Christopher Dorner is still in the Big Bear, Calif., area but they are still deploying officers to search for the triple-murder suspect. An armored personnel carrier heads down a snow-covered road on Feb. 9, 2013, as part of the massive manhunt.
Dorner served more than a decade with the U.S. Navy, from July 2002 to this year, and was honorably discharged Feb. 1, according to Navy records. In that time, he acquired decorations such as the Pistol Expert Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, working his way up to the rank of Lieutenant, the records show. From November 2006 to May 2007, Dorner was part of a Coastal Riverine Group in the Middle Eastern island country of Bahrain, helping to secure ports in the country as U.S. ships came ashore, according to the Navy. But his military training never reached advanced levels of specialized weapons or tactics, a Navy spokesman said. "He probably has more weapons training from the L.A. Police than he ever got from the U.S. Navy," the spokesman said.
As an LAPD recruit, Dorner would receive basic firearms training for service pistols such as 9mm, .40-caliber and .45-caliber, Arabian said. If he took a rifle course, which is common, the department would also train him in the use of semi-automatic rifles such as an AR-15 or M4, he said. The rifle lessons train officers to accurately hit their mark up to 100 yards away. Police have not said what caliber weapons they believe Dorner is carrying. But in the manifesto, Dorner warns of having a variety of assault rifles, including a Bushmaster, Remington precision rifles and a Barrett .50-caliber rifle, a military-grade sniper rifle able to pierce through most protective vests worn by police officers, Arabian said. A skilled sniper using a Barrett .50-caliber rifle could hit a target up to a mile away, he said. "That's a nasty weapon," Arabian said. "That's a formidable item for the military to go up against, much less a police department."
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Police blocked off a street and stood guard in front of a home in a typically quiet Southern California suburb Sunday, protecting a man they believe has been targeted by a fugitive ex-police officer suspected of killing three people and setting the region on edge by eluding authorities in a sprawling manhunt that has lasted days. Irvine residents, meanwhile, were left to adjust to life in the midst of a heavy police presence and wonder when things might return to normal. Authorities have been working to protect dozens of families in the area considered targets based on Christopher Dorner's Facebook rant against those he held responsible for ending his career with the Los Angeles Police Department five years ago.
Among those the 33-year-old Dorner is suspected of killing is a Riverside police officer, and on the fourth day of the manhunt, authorities put up a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. "We will not tolerate this reign of terror," said LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Several tips came in within a few hours after the award announcement, including a reported Dorner sighting that had police surrounding a Los Angeles home improvement store. Police spokesman Gus Villanueva could not immediately say whether the tip was legitimate.
After days without resolution, Dorner's fugitive status caused concern among some and downright fear among others in Irvine, an upscale community that the FBI consistently ranks among the safest cities in the U.S. "If he did come around this corner, what could happen? We're in the crossfire, with the cops right there," said Irvine resident Joe Palacio, who lives down the street from the home surrounded by authorities protecting a police captain mentioned in Dorner's posting. "I do think about where I would put my family," he said. "Would we call 911? Would we hide in the closet?" The neighborhood has been flooded with authorities since Wednesday. Residents have seen police helicopters circle and cruisers stake out schools. Some have responded by keeping their children home. Others no longer walk their dogs at night.
Dorner's background added to the anxiety. The former LAPD officer also served in the Navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and a pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. In his online post, Dorner vowed to use "every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training I've been given" to bring "warfare" to the LAPD and its families. As tense Irvine residents went on with their lives, police looked into a taunting phone call to the father of the woman they believe Dorner killed last week. Two law enforcement officers who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press they are trying to determine whether Dorner made the call telling retired police Capt. Randal Quan that he should have done a better job protecting his daughter.
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Extra police officers patrol outside the entrance to the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013.
A pervasive fear hangs over the Los Angeles area as Christopher Dorner, the renegade fugitive accused of killing three people, remains on the run. The Los Angeles Police Department, the very organization that once counted Dorner among its ranks, has expanded its manhunt to the farthest reaches of Southern California as authorities have announced a $1 million reward for information about Dorners whereabouts.
Read more: LA Manhunt | Million-Dollar Manhunt: Los Angeles On Edge As Search Intensifies for Fugitive Ex-Cop | TIME.com
As the manhunt for the renegade ex-cop accused of killing three people in a revenge plot targeting the Los Angeles Police Department enters its second week, the big question facing authorities is: Where is Christopher Jordan Dorner? The search, considered one of the largest in the history of Southern California, has taken authorities from Orange County to the border of Mexico, from Los Angeles to the Big Bear Lake resort area of the San Bernardino Mountains. Even so, a week after Dorner allegedly began targeting police officers and their families, putting the region on edge, there was no sign of the man on Monday.
The city of Los Angeles put up $1 million in reward money Sunday for help catching Dorner, an announcement that followed news that the LAPD was reopening the case that resulted in his termination. Dorner accused his training officer of kicking a mentally ill man during an arrest in 2007. The LAPD ruled the complaint unfounded and booted Dorner off the force for filing a false complaint. He challenged his firing in court and lost.
In a manifesto released last week, Dorner blamed racism and corruption in the LAPD for his termination and vowed to wage "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against LAPD officers and their families. He called it a "last resort" to clear his name and strike back at a department he says mistreated him. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had a different term for it Sunday. "This is an act -- and make no mistake about it -- of domestic terrorism," he told reporters Sunday during a televised news conference. "This is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered."
Targeting police
