The LAPD manhunt of disgraced former cop turned killer Christopher Dorner last year led to eight Los Angeles Police Officers violating department policy when they opened fire on two women bystanders delivering newspapers.
The incident occurred Feb. 7, 2013, in the Riverside County city of Corona where Dorner was believed to have been driving at the time, according to a civilian oversight board which made the announcement on Tuesday.
In total, the officers fired 103 rounds at 71-year-old Emma Hernandez, her 47-year-old daughter Margie Carranza, and their pickup truck. Both individuals survived the ordeal, with Hernandez being shot in the back and her daughter receiving minor injuries,
the Associated Press reported.
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Of the 103 rounds fired by officers, at least 40 wound up hitting the walls, windows and garages of nearby homes, according to the women's attorney, Glen Jonas.
The city of Los Angeles settled with the victims in 2013, paying them $4.2 million for their claim and an additional $40,000 to replace the truck the LAPD had destroyed.
Amazingly the 71-year-old Hernandez is said to have returned to work, though her daughter has not, claiming "it was too traumatic for her," to continue delivering newspapers in the area, Jonas added.
During the investigation, the eight police officers were assigned to non-field duties, according to Police Chief Charlie Beck and Alex Bustamante, inspector general for the Los Angeles Police Commission, who addressed reporters about the shooting on Tuesday.
"This was a tragic cascade of circumstances that led to an inaccurate conclusion by the officers," the police chief said.
"I sympathize with the officers, but I have a very high standard for the application of deadly force, and the shooting did not meet that standard," Beck added.
In his report about the shooting, Beck wrote of the victims, "there is no evidence to support that they were holding an object that could be reasonably perceived to be an imminent deadly threat," the AP noted.
LAPD Commission President Steve Soboroff refused to say what disciplinary action could be awaiting the officers, though possible measures could include extensive retraining, suspensions, or even firings, the AP reported.
In a separate incident on the same day, another LAPD officer rammed and opened fire on another car in the city of Torrance believing the driver was Dorner. Authorities subsequently realized the driver was in fact, David Perdue, a Redondo Beach resident who was on his way to surf.
In that case, Los Angeles County prosecutors determined that the use of force was reasonable and declined to file criminal charges. Perdue was subsequently paid $20,000 by the city of Torrance.
Purdue has since filed a federal lawsuit against the city seeking more damages for having allegedly experienced head and spinal damage as a result of the incident.
Dorner, a 33-year-old ex-LAPD officer, killed the daughter of a former LAPD police official along with her fiancé and two law enforcement officers over a 10 day period before being cornered and killing himself in a burning mountain cabin in San Bernardino County.
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