Dozens of protesters rallied outside Los Angeles police headquarters on Saturday, rallying days after the police tracked down Christopher Dorner, the rogue ex-cop, concluding one of the biggest U.S. manhunts in recent memory. Protesters cited a culture of corruption and racism within the police force.
The protesters came out en masse to predominantly object the culture of police corruption and brutality. These themes also apparently led to Dorner's rampage against the LAPD establishment, Many of the protesters also said they were angered by the conduct of the manhunt, which led to to his death, including the injuries that were inflicted on innocent bystanders who were mistaken for him, according to the Associated Press.
While holding a sign with a flaming tombstone with the inscription "RIP Habeas Corpus," one 30-year-old protester told the AP, "[The LAPD] were the judge, the jury and the executioner. As an American citizen, you have the right to a trial and due process."
During the two-week manhunt for Dorner, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called for his surrender. He was already believed to have killed three people when cornered last Tuesday at the cabin near Big Bear Laker. During the standoff, he shot and killed a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy.
The Sheriff's Department said that only after Dorner failed to respond to calls of of surrender by the authorities did they begin to launch pyrotechnic gas canisters into the cabin. The ensuing blaze that erupted in the cabin was not intentional, authorities insist, and Dorner reportedly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the end of the standoff.
Saturday's protest underscored the growing antiheroic subculture of Christopher Dorner. Those at the protester do not condone his murder, he is seen as "an outlaw hero who raged against powerful forces of authority," according to CBSNEWS.
