Friend: Christopher Dorner was 'sensitive' to race, but 'not militant'

theGRIO REPORT - The search for suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner has become one of the largest dragnets in Los Angeles history...

“The bizarre thing about it is that usually he doesn’t fit the profile of a person who conducts random acts of violence,” explains Dr. Christine Martin, a professor in the department of criminology, law, and justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “If you look at the patterns, if you look at the trends, mass murderers or revenge murderers are not typically African-American. They’re white males.”

Martin attributes this tendency to the Christian traditions within the African-American community, which she claims create a moral standard that’s particular to the demographic. Incidentally, Dorner attests to no religious affiliation in his writing.

“Religion has a lot to do with what’s kept [African-Americans] in check all these years,” she explains. “He’s not the only African-American discriminated against, but how many do you know that are going around killing people because of racism? That doesn’t happen…From what I can tell, and what I can see and my own personal experiences as an African-American, I believe what Dorner said [in his manifesto] about discrimination. The Rodney King incident proved it, and racism is still happening. It sounds to me as though he is just one of a rare group that has actually had enough. It’s as simple as that.”

Dorner’s path to destruction has been unpredictable not only due to his previous character, but as a result of his military and educational background. The ex-cop, who was born in La Palma, graduated college with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in psychology, and went on to join the U.S. Navy in 2002. He achieved the rank of lieutenant in 2006, and in his time, served deployments to Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq. Soon thereafter, he joined the LAPD.

During his military service, Dorner was awarded many honors, including the Iraqi Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Rifle Marksman Ribbon, and the Pistol Expert Medal. According to a Navy official, who asked for his name to be withheld, these commendations are fairly standard, but Dorner’s coastal training while stationed in Bahrain may have provided him with specialized skills that have assisted him specifically in his flight.

Furthermore, Dorner’s admirable track record may help explain why he snapped when he did.

“He’s not a normal criminal because he’s lived apparently an exemplary life up until this point,” explains Dr. Michael Peck, a forensic psychologist. “My guess is that he’s been feeding off the anger from being discriminated against since his childhood. It was there all his life, but it propelled him to succeed and excel in everything he did.”

Beck says it’s common for those who’ve suffered from prejudice in their childhood days to channel that energy towards success, and that perhaps Dorner’s new position as a fugitive – and one of eminent threat at that – has granted him a way of gaining back the power he lost when he was fired from the LAPD.

“I’m sure he wanted to be the best cop and the best navel officer and so forth, so it pushed him in that direction; when they pulled that away from him, suddenly he saw it as a betrayal of his whole life,” Peck notes. “And unlike some people in his same situation, he apparently didn’t have another life, like a family life. In some cases, a family life would help; that he’d fall back on his kids and his wife, and want to find some other way to help them and support them. Instead he’s gone off the deep end.”

Martin, conversely, feels Dorner has brought himself to a new low. He’s gained little, and placed himself into a situation of weakness. Even though authorities have reopened his case, they insist it’s merely to clear the slate of the LAPD, not to “appease” or validate Dorner’s allegations.

“I don’t think he feels powerful,” Martin remarks. “He’s still facing the same problem, and now he’s labeled a cop killer. He is in a very vulnerable, precarious, and dangerous situation… I would expect him to be, if anything, relying on his military training to survive… He did cross the line. He did go up against the powerful authority, and for whatever reason, he’s still in the subordinate position that he was in in the first place.”

She adds, “I don’t know how expects this to end, but I think he realizes that he could lose his life because he’s taken a life.”

How Dorner’s story will conclude is a matter of speculation at this point. The options are limited. Dorner notes in his manifesto that he will stop killing “when I get justice,” but justice, from his point of view, likely doesn’t match those offering judgment.

“He’s vulnerable in that he has committed a heinous crime, so punishment has to happen,” Martin comments.

While Peck indicates there is no scientific evidence that racism increases suicide risk, and Usera also comments that he’s never known his friend to fall into those tendencies, the path Dorner has established appears to lead towards an ominous place.

“Based on the manifesto, it sounds like this is going to come to a bad conclusion for Mr. Dorner,” Usera says. “Whether you want to call it suicide or suicide by cop, it sounds like that’s where this is headed. Unfortunately, one of the things about Chris that I always respected was that he was a person of conviction… So that trait, as much as I respect it, could be his demise.”

Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @CourtGarcia.

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