(CNN) -- Medical examiners have positively identified the body of the renegade former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner, the man authorities say killed four people and wounded three others in a vendetta against his old comrades.
That announcement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
came two days after a shootout, standoff and fire at a cabin in the
mountains east of Los Angeles. Dorner's remains were identified through
dental records during an autopsy, the department said.
The charred remains of a
man believed to be Dorner were found in the burned cabin late Tuesday.
The cause of death was not released with the identification.
Dorner was fired from the
Los Angeles Police Department in 2009 for falsely accusing his training
officer of kicking a subdued suspect. After unsuccessfully challenging
his dismissal in court, police say, he launched a campaign of guerrilla
warfare against the LAPD, targeting numerous officers involved in his
case and their families.
Dorner was cornered and
died Tuesday afternoon in the San Bernardino Mountains, about 100 miles
east of the city he had once sworn to protect and serve.
The 33-year-old former Navy officer
holed up in the cabin after a shootout with law enforcement that left a
sheriff's deputy dead and another wounded, San Bernardino Sheriff John
McMahon said.
The cabin caught fire when police shot tear gas canisters into it, McMahon told reporters Wednesday.
Although the canisters
included pyrotechnic tear gas, which generates heat, "We did not
intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," he said.
The city of Los Angeles
and other communities in southern California had issued a $1 million
reward for information leading to Dorner's capture and conviction. What
to do with that reward was under discussion Thursday, Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said.
"More than 20
jurisdictions and entities are involved in this reward, so all of them
will be coming together to collectively determine whether any individual
or individuals qualify for it,'" they said in a joint statement. "Our
personal hope is that the reward will be distributed, but we must follow
the rules and respect the procedures of each entity."
Dorner's mother, Nancy Dorner, expressed condolences for the victims in a statement given to Robin Sax at Fox 11 Los Angeles.
"It is with great
sadness and heavy hearts that we express our deepest sympathies and
condolences to anyone that suffered losses or injuries resulting from
Christopher's actions. We do not condone Christopher's actions.
The family has no further comments and ask that our privacy be respected during this difficult time."
Dorner was first named a
suspect in two shooting deaths on February 3: Monica Quan, the daughter
of his police union representative, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence.
Police say he then
killed Michael Crain, a police officer in suburban Riverside, and
wounded Crain's partner in an ambush on their patrol car February 7. The
partner, Officer Andrew Tachias, was in stable condition at a local
hospital, Riverside police said.
They say Dorner also wounded an LAPD officer who chased him into nearby Corona.
In addition, LAPD
officers guarding one of Dorner's targets in suburban Torrance opened
fire on a pickup truck that resembled Dorner's, wounding two women
inside. Beck called the shooting "tragic" and "horrific."
In a manifesto announcing his planned rampage, Dorner said nothing had changed in the LAPD since its scandals of the 1990s, the Rodney King beating and the Rampart police corruption case. Those allegations have struck a chord with some who say that, despite the four killings, Dorner was seeking justice.
Shadowed by that
history, Beck announced Saturday that the department would re-examine
its proceedings against Dorner. The review is "not to appease a
murderer," but "to reassure the public that their police department is
transparent and fair in all things we do," he said.
Christopher Dorner
