Dorner reward decision will take some time, LAPD says
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Citing a high volume of inquiries about the $1-million-plus reward offered in the Christopher Dorner case, Los Angeles police said Monday that officials are still trying to determine what will happen to the money.
In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department said the money ‘cannot be distributed until the investigation is complete, which takes time.’
‘Final decisions on the dissemination of the reward on this case, as in all reward cases, will be made upon the completion of the investigation,’ the statement said.
PHOTOS: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer
More than two dozen donors — including local governments, police departments, civic organizations, private groups and individuals — chipped in to offer the reward for information leading to the arrest and capture of the former LAPD officer suspected in a series of killings. The Los Angeles City Council and County Board of Supervisors later added $100,000 each.
The reward is thought to be the largest ever offered locally, and prompted hundreds of tips.
Dorner, 33, died Tuesday near Big Bear after an intense standoff and shootout with police at a Seven Oaks-area cabin, where authorities followed him to after he tied up a couple in a different condo and stole a truck from a local park ranger.
TIMELINE: Manhunt for ex-LAPD officer
Both the couple and the ranger called 911 after their encounters, raising the question of whether they were entitled to the reward.
“Someone owes me $1 million,” Rick Heltebrake, the ranger, said last week, adding he wouldn’t mind ‘parting it three ways’ with the others.
Monday’s statement from LAPD also included comments released last week by the department and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
INTERACTIVE MAP: Searching for suspected shooter
‘More than 20 jurisdictions and entities are involved in this reward, so all of them will be coming together to collectively determine whether any individual(s) qualify for it,’ the statement said. ‘Our personal hope is that the reward will be distributed, but we must follow the rules and respect the procedures of each entity.’
Dorner’s alleged rampage apparently began Feb. 3 with the deaths of Monica Quan, a Cal State Fullerton assistant basketball coach, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, a USC public safety officer. Quan was the daughter of a retired LAPD captain whom Dorner allegedly blamed in part for his firing from the force in 2009.
An online manifesto authorities attributed to Dorner threatened ‘unconventional and asymmetrical warfare’ against police, prompting LAPD to assign about 50 protective details to threatened officials and their families.
WHO THEY WERE: Victims in the Dorner case
While on the run Feb. 7, Dorner allegedly opened fire on police in two incidents in Riverside County. Riverside Officer Michael Crain was killed. His partner was injured, along with an LAPD officer whose head was grazed with a bullet in Corona.
On Tuesday, as the standoff unfolded at the Big Bear cabin, authorities said Dorner shot two San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies. Deputy Jeremiah MacKay was killed.
Authorities announced Thursday that Dorner’s body had positively been identified as the one found in the charred rubble of the cabin, which burned to the ground after police used an incendiary form of tear gas in an attempt to flush Dorner out.
Dorner died of a single gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
ALSO:
Riverside officer wounded in Dorner manhunt is identified
Dorner manhunt: Incendiary tear gas reportedly used on cabin
Dorner’s alleged victim Monica Quan remembered at private funeral
— Kate Mather
Follow Kate Mather on Twitter or Google+.
