City Promises New Truck to Women Shot At During Cop-Killer Manhunt...But It Comes With a Tax Surprise

A close-up look at the bullet holes in the pickup truck driven by a woman and her 71-year-old mother delivering newspapers. (L.A. Times).

Two women who were shot at during the Los Angeles Police Department’s frantic search for alleged cop-killer Christopher Dorner last month say city officials have failed to adequately atone for their mistake, according to their attorney Glen Jonas.

“It has been more than a month since LAPD Chief Charlie Beck promised the truck to Emma Hernandez, 71, and her daughter, Margie Carranza, who had been working in Torrance, Calif. before dawn on Feb. 7,” NBC4 News reports.

In what city officials call a “case of mistaken identity,” police officers on Feb. 7 opened fire on Hernandez’ truck, riddling it with more than 100 bullets. After the terrifying incident, Beck told Hernandez the city would replace her truck with one from Galpin Ford, a local car dealership.

But this is where things start to fall apart.

“LAPD and Galpin Ford wanted [the women] to pose for a photo opportunity and pay income tax on the truck,” the NBC report reads, citing Jonas. “The women no longer want the truck after they were told they needed to fill out a 1099 form for the donation.”

For those of you who don’t know that a 1099 form is, it’s for tax form for "miscellaneous income."

"You tried to murder the woman, now you're telling her she can't have a four-wheel drive, you're telling her she can't sell it and you've got to be taxed on it?" Jonas said. "How would anyone react to that?"

“Jonas plans on filing a government claim, which is a precursor to any lawsuit filed against a government agency. He said he felt the truck was being touted as a 'reward or prize' instead of a sincere gesture by the LAPD,” NBC 4 News notes:

According to Galpin Ford, the new 2013 Ford 150 SuperCrew is worth about $32,500. Also, according to a dealership spokesperson, Galpin Ford planned on covering the cost of sales tax, vehicle registration, and title.

"It's really sad for us because we want to help these women move on with their lives, and help them move forward with that, we just can't get past the 1099 issue," LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. "The government has to take their bite out of it, I guess."

Emma Hernandez is currently recovering from two bullet wounds taken to the neck, which, according to Jonas, are giving her “life-threatening complications.”

"The grandmother, Emma, starts saying, ‘God have mercy on us,’ because she thinks for sure they're going to die," Jonas said, recounting the Feb. 7 shooting. "She then clutches around the back seat of her daughter to protect her from the gun shots because her daughter has children."

Eight officers involved in the shooting have been placed on “non-field assignments” until “the (police) chief decides otherwise."

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Featured image the AP.