Christopher Dorner Christopher Jordan Dorner ( June 4 , 1979 – February 12 , 2013 ) was a former LAPD police officer and United States Navy Reserve officer who was charged in connection with a series of shooting attacks on police officers and their families from February 3 – 12 , 2013 . The attacks left four people dead , including three police officers , and left three police officers wounded . Dorner was the subject of one of the largest manhunts in LAPD history , spanning two U . S . states and Mexico . On February 11 , 2013 the Riverside District Attorney filed charges against Dorner for the murder of a police officer and the attempted murder of three other officers . The following day , Dorner died from a self - inflicted gunshot wound to the head , during a stand - off with police at a cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains . Up until the shootings , Dorner was living in La Palma with his mother . Dorner left no children and court records show that his wife filed for divorce in 2007 . Early life and education . Dorner was born in 1979 in New York but grew up in Los Angeles County , California . He attended elementary school at Norwalk Christian School from first to seventh grade . He stated in a published manifesto that he was the only African American student at Norwalk Christian School , where he encountered many racial issues with his peers , and was raised in neighborhoods with scant black populations . He said he was frequently disciplined for being involved with fights with other students in response to the racist name - calling . Dorner attended John F . Kennedy High School in La Palma , and Cypress High School in Cypress , where he graduated in 1997 . He graduated from Southern Utah University in 2001 with a major in political science and a minor in psychology . The university confirmed that Dorner had played football for at least two of those years . As a running back in the 1999 season , Dorner played 6 games and rushed for 36 yards in 10 carries . Career . United States Navy Reserve . Dorner was a former United States Navy Reserve officer who was honorably discharged as a lieutenant . He was commissioned in 2002 , commanded a security unit at Naval Air Station Fallon , Nevada , and served with a Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit from June 23 , 2004 , to February 28 , 2006 . He was deployed to Bahrain with Coastal Riverine Group Two from November 3 , 2006 , to April 23 , 2007 . Dorner was honorably discharged from the Navy Reserve on February 1 , 2013 . In 2002 , Dorner and a classmate found a bag containing nearly $ 8 , 000 that belonged to Enid Korean Church of Grace in Enid , Oklahoma . They turned it in to the police . When asked their motive , Dorner said " it ' s an integrity thing . " " The military stresses integrity , " Dorner said . " There was a couple of thousand dollars , and if people are willing to give that to a church , it must be pretty important to them . " Dorner said his mother taught him honesty and integrity . Los Angeles Police Department . Dorner joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 2005 , completing police academy training in 2006 . Abuse allegations . On July 28 , 2007 Dorner and his training officer , fellow police officer Teresa Evans ( now a sergeant ) , went to the DoubleTree Hotel in San Pedro regarding a mentally ill man , Christopher Gettler , who was causing a disturbance . Two weeks later , Evans gave Dorner a performance review that stated he needed to improve in three areas . The next day Dorner filed a report alleging that Evans had used excessive force in her treatment of Christopher Gettler . Dorner accused Evans of twice kicking Gettler in the face while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground . An internal review board investigated these claims and listened to the testimony of several witnesses . Christopher Gettler ' s father , Richard Gettler , testified that after his son had returned home his face was puffy and his son claimed that he was kicked by a police officer . His father didn ' t report this to the police because the injury was minor and his son was unable to explain why he had been kicked . Christopher Gettler claimed that he had been kicked by a female officer who was " almost black " with dark hair ( Evans is white with blond hair ) . He then partially corrected himself , saying she had light hair . He also thought that his injuries had been caused by a club . Gettler ' s father said that his son ' s mental illness prevented him from being a good witness . Gettler has schizophrenia and severe dementia . Dorner was represented by former Los Angeles police captain Randal Quan and maintained that Evans had kicked Christopher Gettler after handcuffing him . Three witnesses , including two hotel employees and a port police officer , testified that they did not see Evans kick Christopher Gettler . Evans also denied kicking Christopher Gettler . The port police officer recalled telling Dorner to fix his tie ; however , a photograph from the scene showed that Dorner was not wearing a tie . The board ' s three members – two LAPD captains and a criminal defense attorney – unanimously ruled against Dorner . They found that his claims lacked credibility and that he was motivated in part by his fear that his training officer would give him a poor evaluation that could end his career . As a result , Dorner ' s employment was terminated on September 4 , 2008 . Appeal . In 2010 the case was examined by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David P . Yaffe who upheld the LAPD ' s decision to fire Dorner . Judge David P . Yaffe said he was " uncertain whether the training officer kicked the suspect or not " but nevertheless upheld the department ' s decision to fire Dorner , according to LA Times . In that case , Dorner could be legally fired for filing a false police report even if the report was true . Dorner appealed his termination by the LAPD Board of Rights by filing a writ of mandamus with the Los Angeles County Superior Court , which upheld the LAPD ' s action . He then appealed to the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District , which affirmed the lower court ' s ruling on October 3 , 2011 . Under California law , administrative findings ( in this case by the LAPD ) are entitled to a presumption of correctness and the petitioner ( in this case Dorner ) bears the burden of proving that they were incorrect . The appeals court concluded that the LAPD Board of Rights had substantial evidence for its finding that Dorner was not credible in his allegations against Sergeant Evans . On February 9 , 2013 , LAPD Chief Charlie Beck ordered a review of the disciplinary case that led to Dorner ' s dismissal . Chief Beck said officials would re - examine the allegations by Dorner that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues . Manifesto . Before embarking on a series of alleged shootings and eluding police , Dorner was purported to have posted a detailed communication on his Facebook page in early February 2013 , discussing his history , motivations , and plans . This became known as his " manifesto " . KTLA , a Los Angeles television station , published a redacted version of his manifesto . This redacted version elided the names of all parties mentioned in the other version ( including notable media figures ) , making the document difficult to comprehend . Unredacted versions are viewable as well as an annotated version with acronyms , abbreviations , and terms - of - art . In the manifesto Dorner cited his termination despite sworn testimony that such excessive force did occur . He noted that no action was taken against Officer Evans , whom Dorner had accused of excessive force and who accused Dorner of misconduct during a patrol . He demanded a public admission by the LAPD that his firing was in retaliation for reporting excessive force . Killings and criminal charges . On 3 February 2013 , Monica Quan , 28 , and her fiance Keith Lawrence , 27 , were found shot to death in an Irvine parking garage . Monica Quan was the daughter of former LAPD Capt . Randal Quan who had represented Mr . Dorner in the disciplinary case that resulted in Mr . Dorner ' s termination from the LAPD in 2009 . " In a Facebook post attributed to him , Dorner warned Quan of ' deadly consequences for you and your family . ' Monica Quan was the assistant woman ' s basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton and Lawrence was a campus police officer at USC . The two had met at Concordia University in Irvine , where both played on the school ' s basketball teams . " On February 11 , 2013 , the Riverside District Attorney filed formal charges against Dorner for the murder of a police officer and the attempted murder of three other officers . Manhunt . Early on the morning of February 7 , Los Angeles police officers fired approximately 100 shots at a blue Toyota pickup truck in which Margie Carranza and her 71 - year - old mother , Emma Hernandez , were delivering newspapers . The officers mistook their truck for the gray Nissan Titan Dorner was believed to be driving . Hernandez was hit and Carranza suffered injuries from flying glass . The officers were guarding the home of a high - ranking police official . The city of Los Angeles agreed to a $ 4 . 2 million settlement besides the initial $ 40 , 000 compensation for their truck . On the same morning , Torrance police opened fire on the truck of a surfer headed for the beach . During the manhunt , Dorner ' s supporters expressed solidarity through social media outlets . Facebook groups were created in Dorner ' s honor , and pro - Dorner hashtag s such as " # WeStandWithDorner " and " # WeAreChrisDorner " trended on Twitter . Mountain siege and death . On February 12 , 2013 , Christopher Dorner tied up a married couple who had discovered him at their residence located in the 1200 block of Club View Drive south of Big Bear Lake , California , which is close to Snow Summit and Bear Mountain Resort . He then left the place in a stolen vehicle . The wife managed to get free and alerted the police at 12 : 20 PM PST . At 12 : 45 PM ( PST ) , wardens from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife identified Dorner traveling down California State Route 38 near the crossroad of Glass Road , which is east of Angelus Oaks . Dorner responded by firing shots at a marked vehicle . A game warden in that vehicle reportedly returned fire . Dorner was cornered by San Bernardino County Sheriff ' s Department ( SBSO ) deputies in a rural mountainous area northeast of Angelus Oaks . During this time gunfire was exchanged and two deputies were wounded , one fatally . A message posted on February 12 to the Twitter account of the San Bernardino County district attorney ' s office said : The post was removed within " a few hours . " At 4 : 20 PM ( PST ) the cabin ( ) at 40612 Seven Oaks Road , Angelus Oaks , where Dorner had taken refuge following a subsequent exchange with officers , was observed to be burning . This caused ammunition stored inside to begin exploding . At the time , the cause of the fire was unknown to the public . Investigative journalist Max Blumenthal stated that audio from the San Bernardino County Channel 7 / 8 police radio shows that officers deliberately set the cabin on fire as a tactical strategy to kill or smoke out Dorner . According to Blumenthal , Police radio communications recorded before and during the fire included : " We ’ re gonna go ahead with the plan with the burner , " " The burner ’ s deployed and we have a fire , " " Burn that fucking house down , " " Fucking burn this motherfucker , " and " Because the fire is contained , I ’ m gonna let that heat burn through the basement . " After days of denying speculation that the fire was intentionally started by police , San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon claimed his officers shot pyrotechnic tear gas into the cabin , which then inadvertently caught on fire . He stated that it was their intention to drive Dorner out , not set the cabin on fire . In the early morning of February 13 , the SBSO stated that investigators had located charred human remains in the debris of the burned - out cabin . On February 14 , the SBSO announced that the body discovered in the cabin had been positively identified by medical examiners as that of Dorner . The identification was made through dental records during autopsy . San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon says that Dorner died from a single gunshot wound , apparently self - inflicted . A wallet containing identification cards belonging to Dorner was reported to have been found at the San Ysidro Port of Entry near the US - Mexico border on February 7 , 2013 . Another wallet containing Dorner ' s driver ' s license was reported to have been found in the remains of the burnt - out cabin on February 12 , 2013 . Reward . Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a $ 1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Christopher Dorner , and because the terms of the offer were not carefully stipulated , judges had to later decide how the reward would be divided . Ultimately , the reward was divided four ways , with the largest portion going to James and Karen Reynolds , who were tied up by Dorner in their Big Bear cabin before he stole their vehicle . Awards and decorations . Medals and ribbons . Dorner was the recipient of the following military awards : External links . Various versions of Dorner ' s purported manifesto : Legal documents in Dorner ' s lawsuit against LAPD :