Furthermore on the LAPD Thing

Christopher Dorner with former LAPD Chief William Bratton c. 2006

I'm stunned at the level of animosity toward the police -- not just LAPD -- this series of incidents involving Christopher Dorner has raised. There was a chat with LA Times reporters earlier today which was linked by hotflashcarol over at FDL, and I checked in for a bit to see what people in the Southland wanted to chat about: 1) the LAPD is out of control; 2) why isn't the LA Times covering the outpouring of rage and outrage at the police?

Wow. You'd never know that from the complete silence about it everywhere throughout the major mass media and the near silence about it in the so-called progressive media, including most of what passes for the progressive blogosphere. Anytime anyone brings it up, they are shushed.

The police shooting of the LA Times delivery women (oops!) was a catalyst for the outpouring of contempt and outrage at the police. It's resulted in many comments suggesting Dorner was right about the LAPD.

KTTV in Los Angeles has been doing a remarkable job unearthing the legal documents surrounding Dorner's firing and his appeal. They are to be commended (and yes, it is a FOX affiliate these days. When I was a boy, it was an independent station owned by the Times-Mirror Corporation. I think they ran the Demolition Derby programs...)

The Times has been criticized for editing Dorner's manifesto. They've censored some of the names, and apparently cut some of the copy (though I can't say for sure, not having studied the unredacted vs the redacted versions carefully). The Times claims they haven't cut anything.

The police appear to be somewhat less panicked, but people are still saying they are more frightened of the out of control police than they are of the alleged killer ex cop. This can be useful to Authority.

There are -- of course -- conspiracy theories.

Because this is going on in the Greater Los Angeles area, there are bound to be fantabulous elements to the story, and there will be much confusion between the reality of what is taking place (what little we are allowed to know of it) and the crime laden teevee shows that tell everyone how it's done.

It is a nightmare for Authority.