Looks like Chris Dorner’s death did not go in vain.
According to the Associated Press, more than three dozen former Los Angeles police officers have requested the department to re-examine their dismissals in the two months since Dorner’s death.
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The cop-turned-fugitive went on a deadly rampage and announced his targets in an online manifesto in February. Dorner claimed he was on a quest to clear his name after his 2009 firing, which be believed was prompted by racism within the LAPD.
Now, 40 former officers are also requesting case reviews. Chief Charlie Beck has agreed to review the cases of officers who feel they were wrongly fired, however the Los Angeles Times reports that the “city’s charter, which spells out the authority granted to various public officials, prevents the police chief from opening new disciplinary proceedings for an officer fired more than three years ago.”
According to the critics, that arrangement is unfair because officers are sent to boards whenever the chief wants them fired and the officers on the panel will feel pressure to do as the chief wants.
Smith rejected that idea, saying board members are completely free to decide as they see fit. He pointed to department figures showing that over the last three years, officers sent by the chief to Boards of Rights were fired in only about 60% of the cases.
Smith defended the department’s disciplinary system in general, saying it has been in place for decades and stood up under repeated scrutiny by oversight bodies.
Another allowance Beck made after Dorner’s rampage, Smith noted, was to launch a broad review of disciplinary procedures to identify areas that officers believe are unfair and possibly make changes to address those concerns.
Do you believe the police department should prioritize these cases?
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