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Christopher Dorner

Christopher Dorner26 posts

Christopher Dorner is currently wanted in connection with the murders of Monica Quan and Kieth Lawrence. While on the run Dorner allegedly shot and killed Police Officer Michael Crain. Dorner released a ‘manifesto” which blamed the killings on his treatment at the LAPD. Dorner had reported his training officer for kicking a suspect, but was himself disciplined.

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2010

Dorner appeals. Judge ‘not certain’ but upholds decision

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A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge examines case a year after the initial hearings as part of an appeal filed by Dorner. Judge David P. Yaffe said he was “uncertain whether the training officer kicked the suspect or not” but nevertheless upheld the department’s decision to fire Dorner, according to court records reviewed by The Times.

LAPD records show that Dorner’s disciplinary panel heard from several witnesses who testified that they did not see the training officer kick the man. The panel found that the man did not have injuries consistent with having been kicked, nor was there evidence of having been kicked on his clothes. A key witness in Dorner’s defense was the man’s father, who testified that his son told him he had been kicked by police. The panel concluded that the father’s testimony “lacked credibility,” finding that his son was too mentally ill to give a reliable account.

Dorner claims he was railroaded by the LAPD and unjustly fired. His allegations have resonated among the public and some LAPD employees who have criticized the department’s disciplinary system, calling it capricious and retaliatory toward those who try to expose misconduct.

2009

Fired from LAPD

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Dorner is fired from the LAPD in after a police disciplinary board concludes he made false statements against his training officer, Teresa Evans. In August 2007, Dorner accused Evans of kicking a mentally ill man during an arrest in San Pedro.

Dec 2008

Board of Rights hearing rules against Dorner

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At the Board of Rights hearing, Randal Quan, Dorner’s attorney, conceded that his client should have reported the kicks sooner but told the board that Dorner ultimately did the right thing. He called the case against Dorner “very, very ugly.” Quan said:

This officer wasn’t given a fair shake. In fact, what’s happening here is this officer is being made a scapegoat.

At the hearing, Dorner stuck to his story. Evans, he said, kicked Gettler once in the left side of his collarbone lightly with her right boot as they struggled to handcuff him. She kicked him once more forcefully in the same area, Dorner testified, and then much harder in the face, snapping Gettler’s head back. Dorner said he noticed fresh blood on Gettler’s face.

Dorner did not immediately report the kicks to a sergeant, he said, because he was asked only what force he had used, not what his partner had done, and as a rookie who had already filed complaints against fellow officers, he feared retaliation from within the department.

Gettler’s father, Richard, testified that police eventually brought his son home and that he noticed a slight puffiness on his son’s face. His son told him he had been kicked by a police officer — once in the face and twice in the chest. Richard Gettler said he was shocked but decided against calling police because the injury was minor and his son could not explain what prompted the officers to use force. Gettler said that his son’s mental illness prevented him from being a good witness and that he was easily scared and would often answer “yes” to everything.

Dorner’s attorney, Quan, presented a brief video he took of Christopher Gettler answering Quan’s questions at the attorney’s office. On the video, obtained by Fox 11 News, the younger Gettler agrees when asked whether he was kicked by a police officer and points to his left cheek, indicating that’s where he was struck.

Evans denied kicking Gettler. She had been placed on desk duty for about seven months during the department’s investigation and prevented from earning extra money outside the department. “It was very difficult on me personally,” she testified.

Dorner, she said, was having problems readjusting to police work after returning from a 13-month military deployment overseas. He told her that family members had noticed a change in him and that he would seek help for it, she testified. On one occasion, he started crying in their patrol car, she said.

Dorner reported the kicks a day after he received an evaluation in which Evans noted that he needed to show improvement in three categories, including the time it took to write reports, officer safety and use of common sense and good judgment.

She said Dorner had told her the department was a “racist organization,” which she said she reported to a supervisor. That supervisor, however, denied during the hearing that Evans told her that.

Three witnesses, including two hotel employees and a port police officer, testified that they did not see Evans kick Gettler.

The board’s three members — two LAPD captains and a criminal defense attorney — unanimously ruled against Dorner. They found that his claims lacked credibility and that he was motivated in part by his fear that his training officer would give him a poor evaluation that could end his career.

Aug 2007

Dorner accuses Evans of kicking Gettler

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Two weeks after the incident, Dorner went to Sgt. Donald Deming’s office at the Harbor Division police station. There were tears in Dorner’s eyes, the sergeant later testified. Dorner told him:

I have something bad to talk to you about, something really bad.

Dorner explained that Evans had kicked Gettler once in the face and twice in the left shoulder or nearby chest area. Afterward, Dorner said, Evans told him not to include the kicks on the arrest report.

Dorener: Promise me you won’t do anything

Deming: No, Chris. I have to do something.

An internal affairs investigation into the allegation concluded the kicks never occurred. Investigators subsequently decided that Dorner had fabricated his account. He was charged with making false accusations.