By Joel Rubin
Los Angeles Times
SAN BERNADINO, Calif. — Law enforcement officers who faced off with Christopher Dorner at a cabin near Big Bear have been formally cleared of wrongdoing by the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office.
In a 59-page report released Tuesday, officials said the many sheriff’s deputies, police officers and game wardens who were involved in the standoff violated no laws and “had no choice” but to engage in a fierce firefight with the fugitive.
Holed up in the cabin, Dorner eventually killed himself with a gunshot to the head. The report laid the blame for his demise at Dorner’s own feet.
For hours, prosecutors wrote, he refused to give himself up and unleashed “a lethal barrage” of gunfire on law enforcement officials who had surrounded the cabin.
“All of the actions of law enforcement were justified based on the choices made by Christopher Dorner,” the report concluded.
The showdown at the cabin brought an end to a massive, 10-day manhunt for Dorner in February 2013. The former LAPD officer had killed three people and vowed more bloodshed as he sought vengeance against the law enforcement officials he blamed for his firing.
After avoiding detection for days in a condominium, Dorner tried to escape the Big Bear area in a stolen car but was quickly tracked down by law enforcement officers. Dorner holed up in the vacant cabin. He quickly shot a deputy and a detective from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as they approached, killing one and seriously wounding the other.
Although the district attorney’s office’s findings were expected, the report offered some new details of how the battle unfolded, including summaries of interviews with the law enforcement officers who were involved.
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