In the news business, yesterday’s news is, well…no longer news. It’s stale, old, and useless. Yet this rush for what’s new often ignores that which bears closer scrutiny. I speak of the memorandum written by LAPD’s former elite officer Christopher Jordan Dorner, reportedly later killed during a fiery armed conflict in the hills of Southern California.
This document, titled “Last Resort”, runs some 10 pages long, and news accounts have not given it a full or fair portrayal. Many, perhaps, most reporters opined that he was obviously crazy, thereby suggesting that his own stated basis for his anti-LAPD actions were unworthy of consideration. These were the journalists who performed their services to the powerful, rather than [acting as] purveyors of information to the public.
One well-known journalist all but bragged that he received a package from Dorner, yet didn’t read it. He dutifully turned it over to police.
Amazing.
I don’t have Internet access, but someone had the kindness to send me a hard copy text. What I read was, to say the least, stunning. If you want to see behind the so-called “thin blue line,” I urge you to read it. It really is a remarkable first-person account of his life in the LAPD and his treatment there, including his vigorous responses when someone used a racial epithet in his presence.
In one example he cites the free use of the n-word: “nigger,” by a cop in his vehicle. He told the guy it was unacceptable, and the guy repeated it. Dorner stopped the car, grabbed the offender, and choked him. When the incident was reported, none but one of the cops there admitted they heard the slur. But I again urge you – read it for yourself. It will give you insight into the inner workings of the LAPD, but more importantly, also of the media.
Dorner repeatedly implored journalists to investigate his claims. But there’s little chance now. It’s old news.
