Ex-cop died from single shot to head
2013-02-16 08:08
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Los Angeles - Alleged US cop killer Christopher Dorner
died from a single gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be
self-inflicted, a coroner said on Friday.
The doctor who examined the body concluded that "the
cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head," said San
Bernardino County coroner Kevin Lacy, giving details from the results of a
six-hour autopsy.
"We are not yet able to speak about the manner of
death and tell you whether or not it was the result of a self-inflicted wound
or another round," he told a press conference.
But he said, "While we are still assembling the
reports and putting it together, the implication seems to be that the wound
that took Christopher Dorner's life was self-inflicted."
The ex-Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) cop went on
the run last week after allegedly killing a couple and a policeman, and
wounding three people.
Another officer was killed and one wounded before the
cabin in which Dorner was holed up burnt in a fire.
At Friday's news conference, officials also announced
that they had found a cache of weapons with Dorner, as well as high-capacity
magazines either in his possession or at sites connected with him during the
manhunt.
Dorner had posted online a chilling manifesto in which he
threatened to kill policemen and their families, and blamed the LAPD for
treating him unfairly in his sacking in 2008.
The manhunt came to a climax on Tuesday in a cabin near a
snow-covered ski resort, after Dorner was spotted in a stolen vehicle and then
fled on foot after crashing one vehicle and carjacking another.
San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said that
there was a prolonged fire-fight with the 33-year-old, who barricaded himself
in the cabin after a six-day manhunt.
When they had exhausted other means, SWAT officers used a
tractor-type device to open up the windows and walls of the cabin, and inserted
a pyrotechnic chemical, to try to force Dorner to surrender.
A blaze erupted, starting at one corner of the cabin. As
the flames took hold, after a period of no firing, "We heard a distinct
single gunshot coming from inside the house," said McMahon.
The sound of it "indicated to me [that] a different
kind of weapon had been fired," he added.
Dorner’s victims
Among those Dorner is accused of killing were the
daughter of a former LAPD captain involved in Dorner's dismissal and her fiancè.
Dorner was booted out of the LAPD in 2009, after a police
disciplinary board found him guilty of making false statements against his
training officer, whom he had accused of cruel mistreatment of a disabled man.
In his online manifesto, he lodged accusations of racism
and abusive behaviour against other officers in the LAPD as well.
Police Chief Charlie Beck said last week that he would
reopen the investigation into Dorner's firing from the police department.
He said he was doing so "not to appease a
murderer" but to reassure the public that his department - which over the
years has battled charges of racial discrimination and police brutality - is
fair and transparent.
- SAPA
