Authorities Announce $1 Million Reward for California Cop Killer Christopher Dorner

This undated photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows suspect Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles officer. (Photo: AP/Los Angeles Police Department)

(TheBlaze/AP) — Seeking leads in a massive manhunt, Los Angeles authorities on Sunday offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Christopher Dorner, the former police officer suspected in three killings.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the reward, raised through several private and public donors, at a news conference at LAPD headquarters.

“Our dedication to catch this killer remains steadfast,” Villaraigosa said. “We will not tolerate this reign of terror.”

Meanwhile, authorities said camping gear was found along with weapons inside Dorner’s burned-out pickup truck. The vehicle found Thursday in the ski resort town of Big Bear Lake was so charred that investigators couldn’t be more specific about the nature of its contents, Sgt. Rudy Lopez said.

Also Sunday, police investigated a taunting phone call that may have been made by Dorner to the father of the woman they believe he killed last week. Two law enforcement officers who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press they are trying to determine if the call days after the killing was made by the 33-year-old fugitive or a man posing as him.

Authorities Announce $1 Million Reward for California Cop Killer Christopher Dorner

A burned-out pickup truck belonging to ex-Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner is towed after it was discovered in Big Bear, Calif, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. (Photo: AP)

SWAT teams with air support and bloodhounds fanned out for the fourth day to search for Dorner, who has vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blames for ending his career.

The effort was significantly scaled back as the weekend went on, with 25 officers and a single helicopter looking for clues in the forest and going door-to-door at some 600 cabins in the San Bernardino mountains, about 80 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

On Saturday, Chief Charlie Beck said officials would re-examine the allegations by Dorner that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues. While he promised to hear out Dorner if he surrenders, Beck stressed that he was ordering a review of his 2007 case because he takes the allegation of racism in his department seriously.

“I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do,” the chief said in a statement.

Dorner’s alleged manifesto, in addition to a litany of grievances against the LAPD, includes praise for President Obama, Hillary Clinton, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and various broadcasters on CNN and MSNBC.

Authorities Announce $1 Million Reward for California Cop Killer Christopher Dorner

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter becomes airborne to resume the search for fugitive Christopher Dorner Saturday Feb. 9, 2013 near Big Bear, Calif. (Photo: AP)

Authorities suspect Dorner in a series of attacks in Southern California over the past week that have left three people dead. The killings and threats that Dorner allegedly made in an online rant have led police to provide protection to 50 families, Beck said.

A captain who was named a target in the manifesto posted on Facebook told the Orange County Register he has not stepped outside his house since he learned of the threat.

“From what I’ve seen of (Dorner’s) actions, he feels he can make allegations for injustice and justify killing people and that’s not reasonable,” Capt. Phil Tingirides, who chaired a board that stripped Dorner of his badge, said. “The end never justifies the means.”

In his online manifesto, Dorner vowed to use “every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance and survival training I’ve been given” to bring “warfare” to the LAPD and its families.

Authorities Announce $1 Million Reward for California Cop Killer Christopher Dorner

An FBI agent and other law enforcement officials are seen at a police commander center in Big Bear, California during the manhunt for alleged triple murder Dorner, February 7, 2013. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Dorner served in the Navy, earning a rifle marksman ribbon and a pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records. He took leave from the LAPD for a six-month deployment to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007.

The flight training that he received in the Navy prompted the Transportation Security Administration to issue an alert, warning the general aviation community to be on the lookout for Dorner. The extent of his potential flying skills wasn’t known, the bulletin said.

Feb. 1 was his last day with the Navy, and also the day CNN’s Anderson Cooper received a package that contained a note on it that read, in part, “I never lied.” A coin riddled with bullet holes that former Chief William Bratton gave out as a souvenir was also in the package.

Police said it was a sign of planning by Dorner before the killing began.

On Feb. 3, police say Dorner shot and killed a couple in a parking garage at their condominium in Irvine. The woman was the daughter of a retired police captain who had represented Dorner in the disciplinary proceedings that led to his firing.

Dorner wrote in his manifesto that he believed the retired captain had represented the interests of the department over his.

Hours after authorities identified Dorner as a suspect in the double murder, police believe Dorner shot and grazed an LAPD officer in Corona and then used a rifle to ambush two Riverside police officers early Thursday, killing one and wounding the other. A funeral for Officer Michael Crain, an 11 year veteran, was scheduled for Wednesday.

The crime spree spanned across a wide swath of Southern California, prompting several police agencies, including the FBI and US Marshall Service, to form a joint investigative task force.

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