Panel Finds Officers Broke LAPD Policy During Dorner Manhunt
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles Police Commission has determined that eight officers violated department policy on the use of deadly force when they opened fire on a pickup truck in Torrance during last year's manhunt for former officer Christopher Dorner.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck Tuesday afternoon announced the conclusion of an internal LAPD review of actions taken by officers when they shot at two women delivering newspapers last year. The L.A. Times first reported the story.
Margie Carranza, 47, and her 71-year-old mother, Emma Hernandez, were delivering newspapers around 5 a.m. on Feb. 7 when officers opened fire on their Toyota Tacoma without warning, attorneys said.
The city ultimately reached a $4.2 million settlement with the women last April in addition to a $40,000 settlement for the loss of their pickup truck.
While the Police Commission panel initially recommended the officers be cleared of wrongdoing, Beck overruled the findings.
However, by Monday afternoon, the commission announced its official conclusion that the eight officers had violated policy, the Associated Press reported.
"I certainly empathize and understand the conditions and circumstances that led to this particular officer-involved shooting. I hold our police officers to the highest standards," Beck said at the subsequent press conference Tuesday.
KCAL9's Randy Paige reports the chief said he could not go into detail on the nature of the discipline.
The panel did uphold the actions of two other officers who exchanged fire with Dorner earlier the same morning while they were on a protective detail in Corona. One of the officers suffered a graze wound to the head, and the other was sprayed with shattered glass.
KNX 1070's Claudia Peschiutta reports attorney Glen Jonas, who represents Carranza and Hernandez, expressed shock at the panel's initial conclusion.
Report: Beck Finds Officers Broke LAPD Policy During Dorner Manhunt
"You have two small Hispanic women as opposed to one large black man that you're looking for," Jonas said. "How can you say that it's within policy to put 102 bullet holes in that truck and approximately 30 to 40 bullet holes in the neighboring garages, windows, and houses?"
Hernandez was shot in the back and Carranza had minor injuries.
Dorner had vowed warfare on Los Angeles police officers and their families for what he called an unfair firing.
RELATED: DA Clears Torrance Policeman For Civilian Shooting During Dorner Manhunt
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