Burnin' Down The House

So after a weeklong manhunt during which the LAPD had heavy light skinned Black men on lockdown in their homes for fear of being accidentally shot, they finally caught up with and reportedly killed alleged cop killer and former LAPD member, Chris Dorner…I’m still confused why they didn’t just go pick him up from Staples Center when he hosted the Grammy Awards last Sunday night. Anyway it’s good to know that the citizens of L.A are for the time being safe from the LAPD. For the past seven days I didn’t venture out of my home unless absolutely necessary as I didn’t want to become the result of a tragic misinterpretation which is how L.A Police Chief Charlie Beck described the incident where two Latino women on their morning paper route were shot in their vehicle as police mistook their truck for Dorner’s. But you can’t blame the LAPD, I mean who knew there was more than one Nissan Titan truck matching the description of Dorner’s in Los Angeles and anyway why take the time to run the tags on a vehicle when you can just open fire. But it’s all good, they offered them a new car to replace the bullet riddled one they refashioned…negotiated settlement to follow.

No comment so far from the Torrance police chief after peace officers shot up a second not Dorner vehicle. This time they rammed and fired three shots into the pick-up truck of a LAX baggage handler who was heading to the beach for some early morning surfing. It was reported that the colors of neither he nor the truck he was driving matched those of the suspect…seriously, it was in the L.A. Times. So apparently it doesn’t matter what hue or gender you are…and dude may want to pick up an afternoon hobby. The police then posted a bulletin stating the public should beware of Dorner…probably some computer glitch, I’m sure they meant the out of control  trigger happy police officers. They later offered a million dollar reward for Dorner, apparently dead or alive it didn’t say, which prompted all conscientious and civil minded Anglo citizens for the entire Southern California region to report every African-American male they encountered…as a result quite a few malls and office buildings were temporarily closed down.

Now I want to preface the following by saying I do not condone the actions of Christopher Dorner and I feel for the family of his victims. One more time for the illiteracy squad, I DO NOT CONDONE HIS ACTIONS. However I can certainly empathize with his frustration and I have a few questions regarding his dismissal. Additionally, it’s obvious that there are still major issues going on in the ranks of the LAPD and not a lot has changed since the Rodney King beating. Why are the abusers of Rodney King now in supervisory roles? Why is it that if you accuse a fellow officer of excessive force and the review board doesn't believe your side, you get fired? How can you possibly have an effective system of reporting abuse when there's no reward if they believe you and your career is ruined if they don't? Why were they so nervous and adamant about killing him that they'd open fire on a vehicle without identifying the occupants? (ok quite a few questions) This ridiculous PR ruse of reopening his case after he’s gone and unable to speak for himself speaks volumes and in fact any new inquiry should be handled by State or Federal authorities. It certainly should not be left up to the LAPD to investigate themselves…yet again.

Of course the media is already rampant with stories portraying African-Americans as Dorner’s only supporters and comparing them to those of O.J. Simpson. This is a false narrative that only serves to incite more racism and further paints African-Americans as supporters of terrorism. You only have to read the comments on every single page that covers this story to see the nearly unanimous opinion that his actions are wrong yet understood in light of the corrupt actions of his LAPD superiors. Dorner's manifesto (which is 10 pages long and took quite some time to read) does talk about the legacy of racism that exists in LAPD, but his grievance is not about that. It's about the blue code of silence and administrative retribution which protects their corrupt institution and the shitty way they treat some people and destroy the lives of others who don't fall in line. It’s sad that Dorner felt so betrayed by his fellow officers and superiors that he would resort to the actions taken. He may have had greater affect by simply releasing his manifesto to the media and the general public…or at the minimum maybe sending out a few resumes, just thinking out loud.

Finally, there has to be an independent investigation into last week’s shameful and unfounded assaults on innocent citizens going about their daily business in the overzealous hunt for a suspected cop killer. Both bullet riddled trucks should be parked downtown in front of police headquarters as a constant reminder of the corruption of the LAPD. But we can rest in the comfort that at least for now the LAPD can go to sleep without their night lights on…and I can finally get some sun.