Christopher Dorner Commentary

In viewing the tragedies unfold in California regarding the murders of people as a result of the Chris Dorner fiasco, one can not stay silent and refuse to have thoughts on this matter. It is rather altogether fitting that the opinion of this blogger, that I shall attempt to be impartial with the matter at hand, and hope that who ever reads these words would hopefully agree to the same.

I have never been a fan of police authority, and I do agree, they are a necessary evil in our society because we need our laws to be enforced, and we, the citizenry, require certain protections from individuals who attempt to circumvent our right to be free from harm. I would also presuppose that the police are in essence good, because they are representative of their respective communities, state and Constitution of whom they swore to protect, and to uphold. However, unfortunately, we are put in a position, as we are now, where the police, the very individuals who swore an oath to defend and protect the Constitution, have swayed from their duties as they were trained to do, and are now usurping their authority that they are privileged to have.

In the case of the Los Angeles Police Department, we had an individual who served our country, and than served his community by becoming a law enforcement officer. Christopher Dorner, during his tenure, saw things that did not like because of the culture that is infamous within the Los Angeles Police Department. He alleges blatant racism because of the color of his skin, and he also noted abuse of authority by his fellow officers. As a result, he reported his experience to his superiors and to his knowledge, nothing was done, and his tenure as an law enforcement officer came to an end because he broke an unwritten rule, a code to remain silent. He appealed his termination, and to his knowledge, nothing was done, and as a result, feeling backed into a corner, he chose what he believed to be his last resort, the use of force.

It is alleged that Chris Dorner killed Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence, and Michael Crain because he believed them to be part of them problem as perceived by Dorner. His grievances against the Los Angeles Police Department lost any form legitimacy as a result of him attempting to air them. It is rather repugnant, and despicable of any one to claim to have grievances and yet to use deadly force to kill others who are not part of the problem, or use any form of deadly force at all. It is my opinion, that there are many avenues available to Chris Dorner or any one for that matter to air their grievances. Dorner was free to go on YouTube and make a video, he was free to go to the media, he was free to make a blog and point out his grievances, he was free to protest on the steps of the Sacramento capitol building, he was free to use different forms of exercising his freedom of speech. It was his right to do so no matter how popular or unpopular his speech may be perceived.

In Chris Dorner’s manifesto, he quoted Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers of our republic, and author of the Declaration of Independence, he quoted the following, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” This quote from Thomas Jefferson is undoubtedly true, and yet it is one of the many quotes from our Founding Fathers that has created the most noise because of the extremism it presents to which I support because of my views on the constructions and interpretations of our republican Constitution. Blood was spilled, but blood was spilled by individuals who had nothing to do with Chris Dorner’s grievances, and it saddens me that as our irresponsible press covers this story of Chris Dorner, they are twisting the facts by down playing the deaths of Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence and Michael Crain. It is rather all fitting that this is the quality of the press we have in our country to a truly abhorrent degree.

Even more so, their are public portions of the public who see Dorner’s crusade as a holy war, or some form of jihad to show the LAPD who is in charge and what can happen one of them goes against the very establishment that he was a part of. It is an abhorrent idea, that as a society we have come to condone this form of behavior. Simply put, people were killed by Dorner allegedly and now those individuals do not get to see the light of day again.

The question remains, did Dorner have legitimate grievances, and for some what I will say will be difficult for some to understand and comprehend but I think it must be said. It is possible that Dorner’s grievances were potentially legitimate. It is potentially possible the system failed in protecting not just Dorner but the individuals in which the LAPD were sworn to protect. All we have to do is look at the incidents that helped bring to light what was happening in the organization called the Los Angeles Police Department such as Rodney King.

Where I believe Dorner failed is the moment he began allegedly killing individuals and making his threats. This, I believe, made his grievances null and void and made him a killer and not the hero that some are making him out to be. Liberals and conservatives alike will look into this tragedy and promote their agendas, in the end the ones that suffer are the people who were shot at, the families of the individuals that were killed and most importantly the trust of the Los Angeles Police Department and peripheral authorities involved.

Last but not least, I take extreme prejudice with the LAPD for nearly killing three individuals who, by the grace of G-d, were not killed because of the actions the officers who shot at their vehicles without investigating thoroughly to assess whether Dorner was in the vehicles in question. It is my belief, too, that Dorner knew something, and as a result, this was their way of attempting to silence him or to simply eliminate a threat because of the alleged killings of the three individuals prior.

I would also say, that all parties are at fault for allowing this to progress to the point it has. No one can make the argument that all methods of having this matter resolved peacefully were exhausted. In the case of the LAPD, they were negligent in their duties, and in Dorner’s case, he was extremely misguided on what he believed his last course of action to get his point across. Simply put, everything and every one failed, from the judicial system to the Dorner himself. I would make the argument, if you feel slighted, than you are free to make a blog, you are free to make a video, you are free to protest on the stairs of the capitol building in Sacramento, you’re to voice your opinions peacefully because our Constitution protects and guarantees that right. However, what you are not free to do, whether you are the LAPD or Dorner is to put in danger the lives of innocent civilians.