Concerned citizens rally in support of … Dorner?

I first expressed some concerns over this growing meme one week ago, and MK Hammer found it cropping up in other places a few days later. Now it’s apparently spilling out into the streets of California, as people attempt to make the recently expired cop killer Christopher Dorner into some sort of martyr / hero.

Dozens of protesters rallied outside Los Angeles police headquarters Saturday in support of Christopher Dorner, the former LAPD officer and suspected killer of four who died after a shootout and fire this week at a mountain cabin following one of the biggest manhunts in recent memory.

Protesters told the Los Angeles Times they didn’t support Dorner’s deadly methods, but objected to police corruption and brutality, and believed Dorner’s claims of racism and unfair treatment by the department. Many said they were angered by the conduct of the manhunt that led to Dorner’s death and injuries to innocent bystanders who were mistaken for him.

Michael Nam, 30, who held a sign with a flaming tombstone and the inscription “RIP Habeas Corpus,” said it was “pretty obvious” police had no intention of bringing Dorner in alive.

I suppose it’s nice that the protesters would take the time to specify that they’re not actually supporting murdering your former employers and colleagues, but that’s a pretty soft sell in light of what transpired. That comment about not having any intention of bringing Dorner in alive was another common theme, and one which I saw reflected in my Twitter timeline many times through the final couple of days of the manhunt. It’s also one of the ones that I find the most confounding. The idea that law enforcement officials were somehow “hunting down” Dorner with the specific intention of killing him should be obviously preposterous on its face. At any point in this saga, Dorner could have put down his weapons and walked into a police station with his hands up and he’d have been taken into custody without further incident. But by the same token, the police weren’t going to blindly wander around while searching for someone who had already shot several of their fellow officers without being prepared for the worst.

Still, the latest group of protesters wanted to get their message out there.

Signs expressed anger at police and support for Dorner.

“If you’re not enraged, you’re not paying attention,” one sign read.

“Why couldn’t we hear his side?”

“Clear his name! Christopher Dorner”

Liliana Alaniz, 40, came with her family -– her mother, sister, nieces and daughters -– from Long Beach to join the protest, which she said was her first.

“I really, really believe he was innocent in the firing case,” Alaniz said of Dorner.

Alaniz held a sign that read, “Trying to clear your name.”

Her daughter, Andrea Tovar, said Dorner “has his supporters.”

If you have complaints with the methods and potential abuses of the police department, bring them forward in the press and in the courts. Showing up as a “supporter” of somebody who is running around shooting cops isn’t helping anyone.

• 43 years ago today: Four dead in Ohio
• Videos: May Day in Seattle goes about as well as you’d expect
• Who gets the million-dollar Dorner reward?

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