(Reuters) – A record $1 million reward was posted on Sunday for information leading to the capture of a fugitive former Los Angeles cop suspected of targeting police officers and their families in three killings committed in retaliation for his 2008 firing.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said the reward, raised in part from private donations, police unions and contributions from businesses, marks the biggest sum ever offered in Southern California in a criminal investigation.
The reward was posted as law enforcement agencies across the region pressed their search for the suspect, ex-LAPD officer and U.S. Navy reservist Christopher Dorner, 33, for a fourth day. Beck described it as the largest manhunt ever mounted in the Los Angeles area.
He called the spate of revenge-driven killings Dorner is suspected of unleashing “an act of domestic terrorism,” adding, “This is a man who has targeted those who we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered.”
An LAPD spokesman also said that police would be providing extra security for the recording industry’s Grammy Awards ceremony being held on Sunday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angles.
The search for Dorner has been focused in the snow-covered San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles since a pickup truck belonging to Dorner was found abandoned and burning near the popular ski resort community of Big Bear Lake on Thursday.
Read more: reuters.com
