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Protesters Gather Downtown To Decry Christopher Dorner's Death

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — About three dozen protesters gathered downtown on Saturday to decry the death of ex-Los Angeles police officer and quadruple murder suspect Christopher Dorner and express their feelings about the handling of the case.

KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports that the protesters gathered across the street from police headquarters at 100 W. First Street. The demonstration began at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Most Protesters Respond to Social Media Calls to Express Their Feelings about Dorner Case

Organizers of the peaceful demonstration told City News Service (CNS) that they anticipated the number of attendees to grow to more than 200 by noon.

"We're protesting some of the police brutality -- not just LAPD, but all over the nation," Lomita resident and Marine veteran Vincent Namm told CNS. "With Chris Dorner, habeas corpus just got thrown out the window."

"It's like they [the police] were judge, jury and executioner. Of course, if the police are those three things, we have something called a police state," he said, adding, "They didn't seem like they were even interested in apprehending him."

Another protester said, "It makes me think maybe they wanted something to hid. Maybe they should have followed other measures to get Mr. Dorner out. I don't know."

The 33-year-old's online manifesto and subsequent death has spawned reaction on social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, by some who sympathize with Dorner's allegations against the LAPD.

Supporters have said, however, that they don't condone the killings of four people, including two law enforcement officials.

Dorner's charred remains were positively identified on Thursday after being pulled from the basement of the leveled Seven Oaks cabin in Big Bear.

On Friday, a coroner's official said during a news conference that Dorner died of a single gunshot wound to the head, but would not comment on the manner of his death.

Capt. Kevin Lacy of the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner had said that preliminary information seemed, "to indicate that the wound that took Christopher Dorner's life was self-inflicted."

Also on Friday, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon denied that his deputies intentionally burned down the cabin with Dorner inside but admitted that over scanner traffic somebody could be heard yelling, "Burn it down."

"There is some recordings that I have heard on the news that would suggest that somebody – we have no idea at this point who – made those comments. We're looking into those and we'll deal with those appropriately," he said.

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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