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Sheriff Says Cabin Not Purposely Burned Down in Dorner Standoff…But Police Scanner Chatter Sparks Debate

Feb. 13, 2013 9:24pm Jason Howerton

Sheriff Says Cabin Not Purposely Burned Down in Dorner Standoff...But Police Scanner Chatter Casts Doubt

In this aerial photo, law enforcement authorities investigate the burn-out cabin Wednesday, Feb.13, 2013 where accused quadruple-murder suspect Christopher Dorner was believed to have died after barricading himself inside, during a Tuesday stand-off with police in the Angeles Oaks area of Big Bear, Calif. San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah MacKay was killed and another wounded during the shootout with Dorner. Credit: AP

LOS ANGELES (TheBlaze/AP) — There was no question. The man standing before Rick Heltebrake on a rural mountain road was Christopher Dorner.

Clad in camouflage from head to toe and wearing a bulletproof vest packed with ammunition, the most wanted man in America was just a few feet away, having emerged from a grove of trees holding a large, assault-style rifle.

As teams of officers who had sought the fugitive ex-Los Angeles police officer for a week were closing in, Dorner pointed the gun at Heltebrake and ordered him to get out of his truck.

“I don’t want to hurt you. Start walking and take your dog,” Heltebrake recalled Dorner saying during the carjacking Tuesday.

The man, who wasn’t lugging any gear, got into the truck and drove away. Heltebrake, with his 3-year-old Dalmatian Suni in tow, called police when he heard a volley of gunfire erupt soon after, and then hid behind a tree.

A short time later, police caught up with the man they believe was Dorner, surrounding a cabin where he’d taken refuge after crashing Heltebrake’s truck in the San Bernardino Mountains 80 miles east of Los Angeles.

A gunfight ensued in which one sheriff’s deputy was killed and another wounded. After the firefight ended, a SWAT team using an armored vehicle broke out the cabin’s windows and began knocking down walls. A fire broke out and later charred remains believed to be Dorner’s were found.

San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said Wednesday the fire was not set on purpose.

“We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out,” he said.

His deputies lobbed pyrotechnic tear gas into the cabin, and it erupted in flames, he said. McMahon did not say directly that the tear gas started the blaze, and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

However, a YouTube video with more than 400,000 views claims to contain audio of police calling for the cabin to be burned down over the police scanner. Critics are holding up the audio as proof that police set the cabin ablaze.

In the police audio, which was broadcast on CBS affiliate KCAL-TV on Tuesday, one officer can be heard shouting “Burn it down” or “Burn him out,” while a second officer seems to yell, “Burn that fu**ing house down!” The authenticity of the audio has not been confirmed.

Listen below (Warning: Strong language)

Meanwhile, police say the pyrotechnic tear gas canisters used are also called “burners,” providing a possible explanation to the police audio.

The Huffington Post has more on some additional audio:

In addition, a video that has surfaced on YouTube appears to include another recording of police audio from Tuesday’s standoff. In the audio, which could not be independently confirmed, a voice says, “We’re gonna go forward with the plan, with the burn … Like we talked about.”

A short while later a male voice says: “Seven burners deployed and we have a fire.” A female voice then responds: “Copy. Seven burners deployed and we have a fire.” (Listen to the full audio here.)

The sheriff said authorities have not positively identified the remains. However, all evidence points to it being Dorner, he said, and the manhunt is considered over.

“We believe the investigation is over at this point,” he added.

A wallet and personal items, including a California driver’s license with the name Christopher Dorner were found in the cabin debris, an official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing probe.

The tourist community of Big Bear Lake that was the focus of the intensive manhunt was returning to normalcy Wednesday and residents were sharing stories of the last weeks’ events. None was more dramatic than Heltebrake’s.

He said he wasn’t panicked in his meeting with Dorner because he didn’t feel the fugitive wanted to hurt him. “He wasn’t wild-eyed, just almost professional,” he said. “He was on a mission.”

“It was clear I wasn’t part of his agenda and there were other people down the road that were part of his agenda,” he said.

Dorner, 33, had said in a rant that authorities believe he posted on Facebook last week that he expected to die, with the police chasing him, as he embarked on a campaign of revenge against the Los Angeles Police Department for firing him.

The apparent end came in the same mountain range where Dorner’s trail went cold six days earlier, after his pickup truck – with guns and camping gear inside – was found abandoned and on fire near Big Bear Lake.

His footprints led away from the truck and vanished on frozen soil.

Deputies searched hundreds of cabins in the area and then, in a blinding snowstorm, SWAT teams with bloodhounds and high-tech equipment in tow widened their search.

Authorities for the most part looked at cabins boarded up for the winter, said Dan Sforza, assistant chief of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and often didn’t enter occupied homes where nothing appeared amiss.

San Bernardino County Deputy Chief Steve Kovensky said Wednesday that he did not believe anyone was in another cabin near the command post when search team began going door-to-door after Dorner’s truck was discovered. He also did not say how long Dorner might have been in that cabin or whether deputies had entered it during the dayslong search.

That could have been how Dorner went overlooked. He was there Tuesday, however, when two women arrived to clean it, said Lt. Patrick Foy of the state Fish and Wildlife Department.

With three killings behind him and law enforcement still on the hunt, Dorner didn’t shoot them. Instead, he tied up the women and took their purple Nissan as he fled. Sparing the housekeepers ultimately would start the chain of events that would lead to his undoing.

One of the women broke free and called 911, Foy said, and the chase was on.

Two game wardens quickly spotted the car on a meandering road along a scenic lake, and deputies planned to throw down spike strips to puncture the vehicle’s tires, authorities said.

The driver of the vehicle seems to anticipate the move, pulling close behind the school buses to give officers no space to drop the strips, Foy said. Dorner had warned – even boasted – in the rant that he knew their tactics and techniques as well as the officers pursuing him.

The purple Nissan then disappeared.

Heltebrake, a ranger who takes care of a Boy Scout camp nearby, said he just had lunch and was checking the perimeter of the camp for anything out of the ordinary when he saw someone emerge from the trees, and instantly recognized Dorner as the man on the news.

Officers trying to find the fugitive quickly realized he must have turned onto a side road, but for a few minutes nobody involved in the chase knew he had changed vehicles.

That was when officers saw Heltebrake’s truck, and Dorner appeared to be behind the wheel. And then the shooting started.

At one point, an officer emptied a high-powered semiautomatic rifle into the truck, but Foy said he doubts the driver was hit. “If he had been struck it would have caused so much damage immediately that he (the warden) probably would have known,” he said.

Out of options after crashing the pickup, the driver made a break for a cabin and barricaded himself inside.

With the standoff under way, officers lobbed tear gas canisters into the cabin. A single shot was heard inside before the cabin was engulfed in flames, said a law enforcement official who requested anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

If the body found there proves to be Dorner’s, the death toll from the rampage would be four, including a Riverside police officer.

Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremiah MacKay was killed and another deputy wounded at the cabin. MacKay, a detective who had been with the department 15 years, had a wife, 7-year-old daughter and 4-month-old son, sheriff’s officials said.

Police said Dorner began his run on Feb. 6 after they connected the Feb. 3 slayings of a former police captain’s daughter and her fiance with his angry manifesto.

Dorner blamed former LAPD Capt. Randal Quan for providing poor representation before a police disciplinary board that fired him for filing a false report. Dorner, who is black, claimed he was the subject of racism by the department and was targeted for reporting misconduct.

Chief Charlie Beck, who initially dismissed his allegations, said he would reopen the investigation into his firing – not to appease the ex-officer, but to restore confidence in the black community, which had a tense relationship with police that has improved in recent years.

LAPD Lt. Andrew Neiman said his agency had returned to normal patrol operations Wednesday but about a dozen targets Dorner threatened to go after would continue to be protected until the remains are positively identified.

“This really is not a celebration,” he said.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (173)

Malcom0983
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:48am
What about his wallet(s)? They found his wallet on the border and then they used another, apparently fire proof, wallet to initially identify his body in the cabin.
Where is the ACLU on this?

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rabblechat
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:25am
“We’re gonna go forward with the plan, with the burn … Like we talked about.” … ” 7 burners deployed and we have a fire” “Burn that ******* house down”
And the Sheriff has the audacity to say this fire wasn’t intentional?

I guess the sheriff has decided Americans don’t need the 5th amendment and due process anymore.

If Dorner was guilty of what they say he is guilty of, I’d have no problem with him being executed.
Unfortunately we will never know because these cops decided to play the part of judge,Jury and executioner.
Sickening…

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thewhiteright
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:07am
galicant wiseword, You ARE AWESOME :-)

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Box55
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 7:36am
If I were fighting that S.O.B. and thought I could spare my life or my buddies life, I’d burn it down and then piss on the ashes. He stole the lives of daughters, sons and fathers in nothing less than cold blooded murder. It’s not like they killed him for unpaid parking tickets. Anyone who idolizes this ***** is seriously out of touch with reality.

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- rabblechat
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:29am
  I don’t think anyone is idolizing him, but the man was entitled to a day in court.
  If we condone the police executing whomever they feel needs executed, then we are no better than the animals we are fighting in 3rd world ****-holes on the other side of the globe.
  
  Report this comment
- KalanVA
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 9:01am
  If he wanted a day in court he would have turned himself in. He knew the outcome.
  
  Report this comment
FlagWavingPatriot
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 7:29am
Why do we have to live in a world of smoke and mirrors?

Of course they burned it down on purpose. And I, for one, don’t necessarily object to that. Hell, he was shooting at them. Burning it down is self defense, as long as their high-tech gizmos showed there weren’t any other people inside.

The issue is this–why do we have to lie about it? How can a guy so high up in the police organization–a guy who is supposed to have integrity–go in front of microphones and lie about it? If you did it, take responsibility for it.

The feds did the same thing in Waco. They burned that “complex” down on purpose. I remember watching it live on MSNBC and you could see the vehicle setting fire to it. They felt the need to lie about it, too.

Our “leaders” are a bunch of cowards.

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strawberry411a
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 5:33am
Some pretty wild comments on this one. If he had lived, he would have been the NEW Messiah and potential martyr for the cause. The CAUSE of course is to hate the white man now more intensely than in 1868. The now infamous Columbis “professor” didn’t really understand the impact his words had. I interpret them to mean blacks want to engage in a civil war using any means possible to destroy whites. 200 years ago blacks were enslaved. NOW it’s time to get even. Good solid Columbia logic.Look to South Africa for previews of coming attractions.

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denkat56
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 4:08am
A cabin can be replaced, a human being , father , mother, uncle or aunt can’t be. I’d burn it down to. Only the leftist would worry about a cabin more than somebody hurt or killed. Dornor isn’t a hero, he’s a cold blooded killer proving the LAPD, right in firing him. People have hurt, maimed, and killed. He’s not a hero, he’s just another nut case no more no less than any other murderer. He even supposedly took his own life, if he did he’s a coward. Liberals weren’t sure in the hell up there being shot at by this nut job. As usual they’ll run their mouths and do the Monday morning quarterbacking. Put their butt’s on the line. As usual its the ones that never had to fight for what they have, like freedom and a safety, that run their mouths, usually the most.

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rebelmedic
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 4:07am
Who cares. He’s dead. That’s the important bit. If the cops burned it down or not….justice was still done….and not at the tax payers expense.

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- galicant wiseword
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 5:09am
  2014 rebelmedic future comment prediction: “who cares that the guy was blown to bits by a hellfire launched from a drone, he knew assault-gun ownership was outlawed – he was a nut.”
  
  2018 rebelmedic future comment prediction: “who cares that 20 adults and kids were burned to death in their house. The government told us that Christians are terrorists, I’m just glad we didn’t have to suffer them a trial before we killed them. All hail the king, Obama be praised.”
  
  2020 rebelmedic future comment prediction: “this comment has been removed by the ministry of USSA electronic patriotism. – violation A3247-6 failure to pay comment tax, – violation A12-3 negative language directed at tier 2 government worker. Do you know someone who is frustrated with their station in life, report them at flag@whitehouse.gov or attackwatch.com”
  
  Report this comment
cowboy357
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 3:48am
The irony I see in this story is the guy perceives he is wronged and the police are out of control…..so HE starts shooting people after going on huge rant for gun control …..in a state that already has some of the strongest.

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klg1956
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 3:27am
Since the Ft. Hood terrorist attack is being labeled a “workplace violence” act, that means that this will also be labeled a “workplace violence” act, since Dorner was a cop and shot cops…right? Not what the media are calling it, a domestic terror act.

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RDavis49
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 2:45am
Two words: Bull Sh it

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galicant wiseword
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 2:25am
*puts on tin-foil beanie*

Now that the government waves that come from the TV can’t invade my brain a few questions have come to mind.

Why would this trained guy with a 2-year head start be so careless?
Why didn’t he blow away the people he carjacked, the guy at the boat dock, I thought he was this super dangerous killer?
Why was the 10,000 strong city police department so desperate to end his life that they opened fire on vehicles that looked like his?
Why did this guy get a million dollar reward on his head faster than Osama?
Why did he have is drivers license on him?
Why did his drivers license survive a fire that turned everything but the stones to ash?
Why did they let the fire burn so long?

*takes off tin-foil hat*

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- rabblechat
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 8:58am
  All good questions; Aside from the “manifesto” that was posted from his Facebook account,
  The only thing we heard from him since this all started was for the man from whom he took the truck; the one that he told: “I don’t want to hurt you. Start walking and take your dog”.
  You would think that if he was on a killing spree he would have killed this guy too.
  
  I can’t speak for everyone but If I was accused of killing a cop, and see or hear that they are shooting up any vehicle that even remotely looks likes mine, I’d probably run too. Its pretty obvious they had no intention of taking this guy a live.
  
  The cops chasing him shot more, if not more people than he did trying to “apprehend” him.
  
  Report this comment
N37BU6
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:50am
“Clad in camouflage from head to toe and wearing a bulletproof vest packed with ammunition, the most wanted man in America was just a few feet away, having emerged from a grove of trees holding a large, assault-style rifle.”

“Assault-style rifle”.

Even The Blaze is guilty of it…

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Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:43am
Of course the guy had to die. They were never going to give him a chance to continue with his liberal manifesto. Getting him out was a simple affair for most anyone “untrained” to do so. The guy never threatened anyone he presumed to be a layman. This was just the most convenient for all concerned.
So? Who gets the million?

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Zuitsuit
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:42am
Must be the same Satanic govt officials that drove the vehicle into the wall and drop the incindiary charges at Waco Texas and burned all those women and children alive. Arent you just so proud to be an American?

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Guitar Master
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:12am
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
From THE REPORTER
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This is an article that looks like it was written by a six year old. Jason Howerton you need to find another profession because you are certainly no writer.

Howerton uses the term “assault rifle.” He also cannot confirm that the police actually said “burn the M – F house down.”

Perhaps it’s time to confirm that this website is absolutely no different than the Marxist media.

It is hard to believe that Glenn Beck has hired a bunch of scatterbrained airheads to do his bidding for him but try to remember “the truth lives here!”

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- Ghandi was a Republican
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 1:51am
  Most of this is just ‘feeds’ like most everywhere else. but I agree with you 100% on the content streaming. It’s trash, already corrupted with ridiculi, lacking insight or perspective outside the feed.
  Granted this isn’t a “New”s source. Nor does it pretend to be. I would much rather see more clear cut “reports” that are far removed from ‘feeding’. They don’t need to be investigative, but they should be free from lamestream drivel.
  
  Report this comment
ElDeVerde
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:43am
When the leftest gun grab comes remember back to that day. When their burning down your house because you’re a dirt bag who believes in the second amendment look whoever is in the house with you in the eye and remind them that these guys are just doing their job.

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ElDeVerde
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:39am
In spite of being called “baby killers” and hippie dirt bags accusing every guy in Vietnam of committing My Lai massacres constantly, even guys getting shot at didn’t indescriminately burn down anything that hadn’t been cleared of innocents first. Madre de Dios, the incident has nothing to do with race. It has to do with either your a good cop or you suck. Sorry if some guys buddy got shot, but he’s still a cop. You don’t nuke the neighborhood to get your man. Where was their SWAT, snipers and any other trained people for this situation? They can assume the jackass is alone, but in the end that’s all it is…an assumption. I’ve seen guys killed and I didn’t set fire to the whole damn place.

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GoodStuff
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:34am
Who cares if the police burned the place down. Dorner is dead. Get the champagne!

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edotddot
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:14am
The one thing some of you on here seem to forget or care about is that this man was shooting at any police once they were in his sights. One officer died right outside of that cabin. At what point were they suppose to read him his Miranda rights? If someone is actively shooting at me (or my buddy next to me was just murdered by this thug) I may make some colorful statements about what I want to see happen to this miscreant. You guys act as if Dorner put down his weapons and wanted to surrender and there was a chance to take him in peacefully. Pay attention to his own words, he was dead already. There was no way he was going to let them take him alive. This was a firefight. Some of you on here are just a step away from crossing over with the people who think he’s a hero and this is about his race.

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pwatkins
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:04am
This is not Waco. They actually knew children were in there and innocent brainwashed people. They pretty much knew this cabin was occupied only by the shooter and he is the one that said he wanted war, so that is what he got and he lost but not without taking the lives of four good people and injuring others.

This guy got what he deserved, just not soon enough. If he had a case to prove he would have called on Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the NAACP. He was fired because he was a liar and a bully, as well as a psycho. Wonder why Jesse and Al Sharpton’s name wasn’t on his like list? Could they be behind the manifesto and didn’t want to insert their names. Both of them have been prov-en to set up racist scams to incite violence in the past. While some of you want to judge the cops you don’t know, but have every right because of the first amendment, I will use the same amendment to voice questions of judgement on my part because I do know the tactics of Jesse and Al.

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- ElDeVerde
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:26am
  Exactly, “they knew that women and children were in there”. As far as “brainwashed”…well that is what most people like to assume if others take a view of which they themselves disapprove. Likewise, as you said they were “pretty much knew” the moron was the only one in the house. I guess their left cost xray vision told them that. Even in the dark ages of the 70′s, before SWATmania, if you had your suspect surrounded you pretty well controlled his environment. He can’t order take-out and is at risk of losing water, electricity and gas. Eventually you run out of bullets and food. Unfortunately, a mob of police is still a mob.
  
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ElDeVerde
Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:00am
1992, Ruby Ridge, Idaho Randy Weaver’s 14 year old son, Sammy, shot dead (in the back). Weaver’s wife, Vicki, also shot grave yard dead by a sniper while standing at the kitchen door holding her infant child (I can truly understand how “trained” cops could mistake the child for a gun). 1993, Waco, Texas the Branch Dividian Compound was burned to the ground burning 80 men, women and children alive; but that was just an “accident” and probably the Dividians own fault. If you or I had done such a thing we would have been arrested for murder. All of this was done under approval, encouragement and leadership of the whore monger Bill Clinton, his man-wife and Mr. Janet Reno. Even if I never see a pig fly I would bet Obamanation’s 17trillion debt that the cops burnt this guy out. Welcome to the real world of “kill him and then give him a fair trial.” I’m not gonna shed many tears over a bunch of Californication liberals. I used to be a cop and I learned that more of them dislike the idea of you having “rights” under the Constitution than you realize. Especially search and seizure rights. It’s called the “blue line” and we ain’t in it. Before a lot of pro-law dawgs start screaming notice I didn’t say all cops. A few really truly take the oath to defend the Constitution seriously; but rest assured, like me, they will eventually see that their efforts are futile and seek employment elsewhere.

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TopFlightSecurity
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:57pm
Come on guys are we surprised! Would you expect anything less than brutality from the LAPD, NYPD, CPD or any other metro area police department. This whole scenario reminds me of “The Negotiator”.

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TRILO
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:11pm
Sorry but I do not believe the Sheriff. Right or wrong, the cops had a vendetta against him. The fact that the police tried to shut down all media coverage speaks volumes for their intent.

There has been a drastic shift in police mentality over the past decade. We have militarized our police forces and these events are now viewed as “collateral damage”. If Waco, Ruby Ridge and the numerous SWAT raids gone bad do not wake people up I do not know what will.

Our police departments have been co-oped by the DHS and other federal agencies so that they can get money for bigger and more deadly “toys”.

Welcome to the United Police States of America. But hey, if I am not doing anything “wrong” why should I care. American sheeple are blind and ignorant fools.

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- soybomb315_II
  Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:23pm
  bread and circus.
  
  i am ashamed of america today. Previous blaze articles from today showed how even the majority of people around here (supposedly the good guys) worship the authoritarians
  
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- edotddot
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:27am
  Do you really need someone to explain the media blackout to you? Really? If you think really long and hard about it…do you think you might be able to come up with a logical reason? I’ll even give you a minute…
  I don’t want you to bust any blood vessels or anything…so here ya go; Helicopters flying above the scene, broadcasting in close to real time could help the shooter inside the cabin if he had a tv or internet feed. This would impede law enforcement tactically and endanger their lives even more so. No big conspiracy here just standard operating procedure. Does it make sense to you now?
  
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- GoodStuff
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 12:36am
  “worship the authoritarians”
  
  A cop on foot patrol who is murdered in cold bold is not an authoritarian…he’s just a guy doing his job.
  
  Shame on you for trying to prop up Dorner as some sort of hero.
  
  Your lunacy knows no bounds…you are Encinom 2.0
  
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- soybomb315_II
  Posted on February 14, 2013 at 7:46am
  goodstuff, you are exactly the kind of person i am talking about
  
  you act like our government is tyrannical, doesnt follow rules, and complain about our rights being squashed. When these authoritarian forces (progressive ideology, not cops) come start taking your guns and eliminating dissenters – nobody will be on your side because we will be the first to go
  
  coward
  
  Report this comment
heidihoneighbor
Posted on February 13, 2013 at 11:11pm
OOf coursre they did it on purpose.
Water boarding is illegal, but nobody said anything about burning a person alive so its perfectly reasonable

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