In his manifesto, Dorner described a police department that cares little about the public they are supposed to serve. He wrote that officers take pictures of dead civilians as part of a macabre game where the cops compare photos to see whose is the grizzliest. He wrote of officers allowing wounded suspects to bleed to death so they may collect more overtime because of future court subpoenas — dead victims in general are happily viewed as opportunities for more money.
Dorner was telling us that our cops, our heroes in blue, don’t value our lives. That is newsworthy. At least it should be.
Of course, Dorner is one man and no media outlet can go on his testimony alone. That is why the opinion of someone like Brian Bentley, an ex-LAPD cop, matters.
Bentley served 10 years with the department. He wrote One Time: The Story of a South Central Los Angeles Police Officer,
http://www.amazon.com/One-Time-Central-Angeles-Officer/dp/1890632007 which delved into the misconduct and racism he observed while an officer.
“Not only do I believe it, but I lived it,” said Bentley about Dorner’s manifesto in an interview with EURweb.
http://www.eurweb.com/2013/02/ex-la-cop-brian-bentley-on-dorner-manifesto-not-only-do-i-believe-it-but-i-lived-it/ What is particularly noteworthy of Bentley’s interview is that he spoke of three other former officers he knew who had manifestos of their own. Instead of acting on them like Dorner, they committed suicide.
It is also interesting to note that in an interview with Times op-ed columnist Pat Morrison, Chief Beck said Dorner’s manifesto “reminded him of other manifestos.” His admission is telling in two ways. For one, it corroborates Bentley’s statement and it hints of a troubled institution. Secondly, it was an admission that Morrison, as a journalist, should have pounced on, but didn’t.
While Dorner was on the run, another ex-LAPD cop, Joe Jones, came forward by posting a statement on his Facebook page. Jones, who was a patrol officer for nine years, did not approve of Dorner’s methods, but expressed empathy, for he too experienced police corruption firsthand.
“I need you to first assume that I would not surface 16 years later with lies about a situation that has me with PTSD to this very day,” he wrote.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/joe-jones-manifesto-christopher-dorner_n_2670513.html “The pain forces me to speak as I have yet to shake the ill’s of my experience as an LAPD Officer.”
Mike Rothmiller, a former LAPD detective also came forward. Rothmiller is the co-author of L.A. Secret Police,
http://www.amazon.com/L-A-Secret-Police-Inside-Network/dp/0671796577 which covered his experience in an illegal LAPD spy ring that focused on journalists, celebrities, business leaders and politicians. In an interview with LA Activist, he said Dorner’s manifesto was “spot on.”
http://www.laactivist.com/2013/02/12/the-dorner-manifesto-piercing-the-blue-line-part-i/ http://www.laactivist.com/