Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

$1 million reward for fugitive ex-cop
BY GILLIAN FLACCUS and TAMI ABDOLLAH, Associated Press

IRVINE, Calif. -- A heavy police presence blocked off a street in a typically quiet Southern California suburb Sunday, as residents adjusted to life in the midst of a sprawling manhunt for a fugitive whose police and military background and vitriolic online manifesto has put the region on high-alert.

Police are working to protect dozens of families considered targets based on Christopher Dorner's Facebook rant against those he held responsible for ending his career with the Los Angeles Police Department five years ago.

Dorner, 33, is suspected of killing three people, including one police officer, and on the fourth day of the manhunt, authorities put up a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture.

"We will not tolerate this reign of terror," said L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Dorner's background added to the anxiety. The former LAPD officer also served in the Navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and a pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. In his online manifesto, Dorner vowed to use "every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training I've been given" to bring "warfare" to the LAPD and its families.

As tense Irvine residents went on with their lives, police looked into a taunting phone call to the father of the woman they believe Dorner killed last week.

Two law enforcement officers who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press they are trying to determine whether Dorner made the call telling retired police Capt. Randal Quan that he should have done a better job protecting his daughter.

The bodies of Monica Quan and her fiance were found shot dead last Sunday in Irvine, marking the start of the high-profile case.

Things escalated early Thursday morning, when police say Dorner got into a shootout with police in Corona, grazing an LAPD officer's head with a bullet before escaping. Authorities believe he then used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers, killing one and seriously wounding the other.

About 65 miles away, the manhunt continued in the San Bernardino mountains near the ski resort town of Big Bear, where authorities found Dorner's burned out pickup truck Thursday.

With little apparent evidence pointing to Dorner's whereabouts, worrisome questions emerged: How long could the intense search be sustained? And, if Dorner counties to evade capture, how do authorities protect dozens of former police colleagues whom he has publicly targeted?

LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said the department has deployed 50 protection details to guard officers and their families who are deemed targets in Dorner's manifesto.

"It can't be one guy with a gun in a living room," Smith said, suggesting that more officers would be necessary to keep families safe.