LAPD has shot five innocent people in the Dorner manhunt
February 12, 2013Three members of a jazz band were shot by Los Angeles police Monday afternoon in relation to a massive hunt for an avenging ex-cop, police and witnesses said.
Police were reportedly acting on a tip in their search for Christopher Jordan Dorner when they stopped a van at an Arco station on La Cienega Boulevard near Interstate 405.The van was carrying three members of a Dave Brubeck tribute band and their manager.
Police then allegedly started shooting at the blue 1989 Ford Aerostar, hitting three men and riddling the van with bullet holes.
The three men, later identified as members of The Brubeck Ambassadors Jazz Band, were treated at the scene for gunshot wounds before being taken to an area hospital in stable condition, police said. The band’s manager was unharmed.
The shooting occurred as local, state and federal police are conducting a massive search for Dorner, 33, an ex-LAPD officer who is suspected of fatally shooting an Orange County couple and three Riverside police officers, one of whom died.
Dorner reportedly declared in an online manifesto that he is seeking revenge against former LAPD colleagues he blames for ending his career. Authorities are offering $1 million for information leading to Dorner’s arrest. Dorner’s truck was found in Big Bear, Calif., last week.
All three of Monday’s shooting victims are white. Dorner is described as African-American, 6 feet tall and 270 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
At a hastily-called news conference, LAPD Lt. Joseph Fryday said officers were following up on a tip that “a suspicious van was driving around Los Angeles, with Dave Brubeck music blasting from it at a high volume.”
Fryday said Dorner admitted to being a fan of Brubeck, “which created the suspicion that Dorner might be in the van.”
“Whenever you drive around Los Angeles, it’s typically hip-hop and pop music blaring at an increased volume from people’s cars,” Fryday said. “It’s rare to hear jazz music blaring from a vehicle at a high volume, so the officers decided to follow up on the call.”
Brubeck, who died last year at age 91, is highly regarded among jazz fans as a brilliant pianist and composer.
Dorner identified Brubeck’s 1959 “Take Five” hit jazz song as “the greatest piece of music ever, period” in a lengthy manifesto he posted on his Facebook page, in which he also identified and praised his favorite entertainers.
Fryday dismissed claims that the latest shooting is a sign of amplified fear among the police and of their inability to capture Dorner, who has been missing since last week.
“If anything, this latest shooting demonstrates just how dedicated police across the state are to bringing Christopher Dorner to justice for the crimes he has committed,” Fryday said. (NO, major fail.)
“The public should be assured that we are doing everything we can to capture Christopher Dorner, even if it means shooting at every car and every person in California.”
The Monday shooting follows several embarrassing incidents for police in their search for Dorner, who remains at large.
In one incident, police in Torrance shot a mother and daughter who were delivering newspapers. In another case of mistaken identity, police rammed an innocent motorist off the road because his pickup matched the description of Dorner’s truck.
San Diego police also cornered an innocent man while acting on a lead that Dorner was hiding out in a motel.
Blasting jazz music in LA is now cause for suspicion… Seriously, LA area friends, watch out. Anyone could be targeted.