Medical examiners released a report on Feb. 14 confirming that the charred body pulled from the burnt-down debris in Big Bear, Calif., was of former Los Angeles cop Christopher Dorner. The following day, the cause of death was ruled to have been a single gunshot to the head.
“The information that we have right now seems to indicate that the wound that took Dorner’s life was self-inflicted,” commented Capt. Kevin Lacy of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department during a press conference.
Dorner’s body was positively identified through dental records, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office said in a written statement.
Reports suggest that the Black ex-cop launched a weeklong guerilla warfare-style revenge rampage against local law enforcement in retaliation for his firing from the force and what Dorner deemed to be “racist treatment” by the LAPD.
During the last days of the hunt, Dorner was hiding out in a resort cabin across the street from the search operation’s command post. When discovered, he engaged in a deadly shootout with law enforcement, killing one deputy and injuring another.
Authorities said police made “numerous PA announcements identifying [Dorner] by name, asking him to surrender,” before firing pyrotechnic tear gas inside the cabin Dorner had been holed up in, causing the building to go up in flames.
“We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out,” claimed San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon.
As the building was ablaze, deputies claimed to have heard one final gunshot.
According to some reports, police prevented any escape attempts by showering the cabin with heavy artillery and stopped firefighters from putting the inferno out. Although police have claimed they did not “deliberately” allow the cabin to be incinerated, they admit that the projectiles used to force Dorner out could have ignited the fire.
Dorner is suspected of killing Monica Quan and her fiance, both found shot to death in a car in their apartment complex on Feb. 3. Quan’s father, former LAPD Capt. Randal Quan, was targeted by Dorner in his “manifesto” for being partly responsible for his termination.
Dorner is also being blamed for the death of Riverside, Calif., cop Michael Crain. San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah MacKay, 35, was killed in the Feb. 12 standoff. Overall, in his aftermath, four lay dead–including two cops–and three injured.
“[Dorner] was not going to come out of that ordeal alive, and he knew it,” proclaims urban observer La Meh Nua. “Black men never survive those types of situations. Hopefully, police departments across the nation will take heed after this.
“How did they find a plastic I.D., but his body was burned beyond recognition? I doubt he committed suicide after taking such a strong stance!”