In the manifesto authorities say Christopher Dorner published online before launching his violent rampage, the ex-cop warned that he planned to kill members of the LAPD in order to clear his name, but said he realized he wouldn't live long enough to see the redemption he sought.
"I know I will be vilified by the LAPD and the media. Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name ... The question is, what would you do to clear your name?" Dorner asked.
So what pushed the 33-year-old former police and naval officer over the edge, launching him on a path of violence that ended Tuesday in the hail of bullets, as he predicted?
Dorner, who is black, said his vendetta was rooted in the racism he had encountered at various points in his life.
Reported details about Dorner:
- Born: June 4, 1979 in New York
- Grew up in L.A, where he went to Norwalk Christian School from Grade 1-7
- Attended high school at John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, Calif., then Cypress High School
- Graduated Southern Utah University in 2001 where he played football for two years
- Lived in La Palma, Calif., with his mother at the time of the shootings
- Dorner had no children, and according to reports, his wife filed for divorce in 2007
Dorner wrote in his manifesto that he had experienced racism as a child in the schoolyard, responded with violence, and was punished for it by his school principal. After that experience, he vowed he would never again tolerate a racial slur again.
The rambling, 11-page document outlines a number of encounters with racism within the LAPD, including one involving the use of the same derogatory term Dorner had heard as a child.
But it was after his attempt to act as a whistleblower that his response escalated.
Dorner said he witnessed an officer kicking a suspect several times in the chest and face, and filed a report on the incident. Dorner claimed nothing was done, and 10 months later he was relieved of duty after the department said he lied in his report about it.
"It is clear as day that the department retaliated toward me" for breaking the "Blue Line" of silence, Dorner wrote.
Losing his job, Dorner said, turned his life upside down and robbed him of the career that he considered to be his "calling in life."
"I lost my position as a Commanding Officer of a Naval Security Forces reserve unit at NAS Fallon because of the LAPD. I've lost a relationship with my mother and sister because of the LAPD. I've lost a relationship with close friends because of the LAPD. In essence, I've lost everything because the LAPD took my name and new (sic) I was INNOCENT!!!"
Dorner is clear in his manifesto about what he planned to do to clear his name. He vows to launch a killing spree against anyone associated with the LAPD, saying the violence would only stop when the department publicly stated his innocence.
"I'll be waiting for a PUBLIC response at a press conference. When the truth comes out, the killing stops," Dorner wrote.
Police didn't give in to Dorner's demand, and in the end four people were killed, including a woman, her fiancé, and two officers. Several others were shot but not killed.
Police have not yet confirmed that Dorner was killed Tuesday in a firefight with officers at a mountain cabin in Big Bear Lake, Calif.