When cop killer Christopher Dorner was on the loose and terrorizing southern California, some 30 groups joined together to put a $1 million price on his head. But after the former LAPD officer killed himself while barricaded in a mountain cabin in February, some of those groups have gotten stingy.
A law enforcement union became the latest of the contributors to voice second thoughts about its $60,000 share of the reward, following a similar decision by the city of Riverside to withdraw its pledge of $100,000. With Dorner dead and no shortage of prospective claims to the pot, it seems some of the groups behind the reward have developed an appreciation for fine print. Specifically, the part that authorized a payout for information leading to the "arrest" and "conviction."
“It’s on hold,” Ron Cottingham, president of the 64,000-member Peace Officers Research Association of California, told FoxNews.com. “The authorization for that pledge came from the board of directors. And since the circumstances under which they offered the pledge toward the reward do not seem to have been fulfilled, it’s still on hold.”
A couple who was bound in their mountain condo by Dorner and a camp caretaker he carjacked have laid claim to the reward, which officials have said they hope to dole out by mid-April. Both parties say they provided authorities the crucial tip that allowed police to corner Dorner in a vacant mountain cabin before killing himself after a shootout on Feb. 12. Dorner, 33, killed four people, including two police officers, during his weeklong rampage.
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During that manhunt — portions of which were broadcast live on national television — LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa coordinated a $1 million reward from more than 30 agencies, corporations and associations including the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Los Angeles Dodgers, AEG and the University of Southern California. And while crime rewards typically lead tipsters to protect their identities, the well-publicized killing spree had the opposite effect, according to LAPD detective.
“Everybody’s coming out of the woodwork on this one,” LAPD Detective Andy Neiman told the Associated Press. “These people are being very public about it because they know Dorner can’t come after them.”
Both Beck and Villaraigosa have said they’d like to see the reward paid out. LAPD spokesman Richard French told FoxNews.com that authorities from the relevant agencies will meet in the next two weeks to correlate their findings regarding the reward and determine who was ultimately responsible for Dorner’s capture.
“It is a very unique situation because we have so many jurisdictions involved and so many people pledging rewards,” French told FoxNews.com.
The city of Riverside, however, which saw one of its officers gunned down by Dorner, has announced its pledge of $100,000 is no longer on the table.
City spokeswoman Cindie Perry, who did not return requests for comment, told the Los Angeles Times that the City Council resolution indicated that the reward money was for information leading to an arrest and conviction — neither of which were met.
“Because conditions were not met, there will be not be a payment of a reward by the city,” Perry told the newspaper in an email.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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