Friday, February 8, 2013

Rogue Robocop

A manhunt is under way in Los Angeles and across Southern California for alleged cop killer Christopher Jordan Donner. Donner is a former LAPD officer, and trained marksmen whom police suspect have murdered 3 people including the daughter of the police chief whom he feels wronged him. Donner believes that he was wrongfully terminated by the LAPD and has vowed to seek revenge in an 11 page manifesto he sent to the media. The following are excerpts from said manifesto.

"I know most of you who personally know me are in disbelief to hear from media reports that I am suspected of committing such horrendous murders and have taken drastic and shocking actions in the last couple of days. You are saying to yourself that this is completely out of character of the man you knew who always wore a smile wherever he was seen. I know I will be villified by the LAPD and the media. Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name. The department has not changed since the Rampart and Rodney King days. It has gotten worse. The consent decree should never have been lifted. The only thing that has evolved from the consent decree is those officers involved in the Rampart scandal and Rodney King incidents have since been promoted to supervisor, commanders, and command staff, and executive positions."
"Terminating me for telling the truth of a caucasian officer kicking a mentally ill man is disgusting. Don't ever call me a f***ing bully. I want all journalist's to utilize every source you have that specializes in collections for your reports. With the discovery and evidence available you will see the truth. Unfortunately, I will not be alive to see my name cleared. That's what this is about, my name. A man is nothing without his name."

This statement is an attempt to justify his murderous actions but it also gives us a peek into the psyche of an civil servant with his back against the wall who is willing to go to the extreme to clear his name. He once had dreams and aspirations but got pushed to the edge, went over the edge, and hit rock bottom.

"I have exhausted all available means at obtaining my name back. I have attempted all legal court efforts within appeals at the Superior Courts and California Appellate courts. This is my last resort. The LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now lead to deadly consequences. The LAPD's actions have cost me my law enforcement ...They cost me my Naval career ... I lost my position as a Commanding Officer of a Naval Security Forces reserve unit at NAS Fallon because of the LAPD. I've lost a relationship with my mother and sister because of the LAPD. I've lost a relationship with close friends because of the LAPD. In essence, I've lost everything because the LAPD took my name and knew I was INNOCENT!!!"

The media and the LAPD have already began portraying Donner as a crazed madman on the fringe. But this manifesto
seems to suggest something very different. An enraged man who exhausted all possible options, and will not lay down and roll over. This was my initial conclusion but after I read the next excerpt, I realized that this theory didn't even scratch the surface and I was able to form an accurate hypothesis based on the following.

"I'm not an aspiring rapper, I'm not a gang member, I'm not a dope dealer, I don't have multiple babies momma's. I am an American by choice, I am a son, I am a brother, I am a military service member, I am a man who has lost complete faith in the system, when the system betrayed, slandered, and libeled me. I lived a good life and though not a religious man I always stuck to my own personal code of ethics, ethos and always stuck to my shoreline and true North. I didn't need the US Navy to instill Honor, Courage, and Commitment in me but I thank them for re-enforcing it. It's in my DNA.

This particular paragraph is quite interesting, and perhaps the most revealing. Donner makes an affirmation in reference to all of the things that he is not. As if he should never have been treated unfairly because he is not an aspiring rapper, a gang member or has multiple baby mamas. He believes that he is unlike the average black man. In fact Donner believes that he is an "exceptional negro" who stands head and shoulders above the rest. What he didn't realize is the fact that no matter how exceptional he thought he was, he is still subject to the racial bias that is part of life as an African-American.
Nothing that he achieved could transcend that stark reality. Not being a Los Angeles Police Officer, not being a Navy reservist, and not staying on the straight and narrow.
He has revealed himself. Donner was once a delusional Police Officer, completely detached from reality, who prided himself in the fact that he was nothing like the African-American men who had the misfortune of being passengers held captive in the back of his patrol car. Little did he know, nothing separated them, with the exception of a steel partition and a police uniform. But now he knows, and has become the very black man that he criticized, stereotyped and despised. A lawless, violent, irresponsible coward who decided to throw an extreme temper tantrum because he could not have his way. A man full of excuses, with no sense of responsibility. In a twist of fate he will soon find himself hand cuffed in the back of someone else's patrol car or staring down the barrel of a gun. A victim of his own personal illusion of inclusion.

PR

1 comment:

  1. Christopher Dorner--WHEW! Firstly, I believed Mr. Dorner when he said that he saw a higher ranking cop kick a man in the face while the man was lying handcuffed on the ground. In fact, I think that I saw a youtube video depicting that. I believed Mr. Dorner when he said that LAPD closed ranks against him and made him appear to be a liar. I believed Mr. Dorner when he said that Retired LAPD Captain Quan-turned-lawyer-who -represented-Dorner-at-his-hearing did not represent Dorner very zealously, as though Quan was in collusion with his former employer--the LAPD. (You see, I remember how the LAPD did Geronimo Pratt, Rodney King, Huey Newton. I remember how they shot looters down like rabid dogs. After the WATTS riot, there were so many dead Black bodies in the streets that some LA undertakers were saying that they had no room to store and prepare all of the bodies.) I lost all respect for Dorner when he started killing people who had no direct involvement with his case. At that point, I knew that he was crazy or darn near crazy and that LAPD was NOT going to let him live to tell his story--particularly if ANY portion of it was true and since he managed to kill two police officers! Law Enforcement was so determined to "get" him that the Torrance Police lost all common sense--they shot two Hispanic women delivering newspapers and claimed that they mistook the two women for Dorner!! ?? A man out running an errand in a truck similar to Dorner's was stopped by the Torrance Police, then let go after they searched his truck. However, another Torrance Police Officer rammed the man's truck, causing him to seek medical attention. He, along with the two Hispanic women, is suing the city of Torrance, CA. The city is also being sued by people whose homes and cars were damaged by the shooting caused by over-zealous police officers, claiming to have "thought" that they saw Dorner. All of this inept policing was reminiscent of "The Keystone Cops"--another bunch of bungling nincompoops from my childhood cartoon days. One Black man in LA was said to be selling shirts that read: "I'm NOT Christopher Dorner". On my Facebook Timeline, I advised people, especially Black men living in Southern California with small trucks, to leave their trucks at home and take the bus. After all if the police could mistake two Hispanic females for one Black male--NOBODY was safe. In the end, things were pretty much as I expected. With all of the helicopters, police dogs, swat teams, FBI, municpal, county and state cops looking for him, I knew that his days were numbered. (Although I did fantasize that he was on a plane on his way to a country from which he could not be extradited--after all--he did have 5 years to plan this.) The tear gas was sent through the windows, there was an explosion, the place caught fire--and Dorner is alleged to have shot himself. Who knows--one thing that I know for sure, emergency personnel just stood around talking while the cabin burned to the ground. It seems to me that sometimes we can't win for losing. Christopher Jordan Dorner took the law into his own hands. He made it clear that he was going to even the score. He also made it clear that he did not believe in God--so, in my opinion, he had nowhere to turn. On the other hand, Mr. McNeil-- arrested for protecting himself, his family and his property was charged with murder even though his State has a "Castle Law". Yet, he spent 6 years in prison fighting for his freedom and going through all of the proper channels. Yet, this poor man was released just a few AFTER his wife died of breast cancer. It almost, if you're not careful, makes you fully understand, though not condone Mr. Dorner's actions.

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