Attack of the Drones: No Expense to be Spared in LAPD's International Revenge Rambro Hunt for Alleged Cop Killer

February 12, 2013 Tron Nick

LAPD 'Doing it Well' From [HERE] Alongside the police shooting on two separate incidents of innocent individuals in the manhunt for alleged cop-killing ex-cop Christopher Dorner, the frenzied search has also introduced the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) to seek a target on U.S. soil. According to MSNNow, “their use was confirmed by Customs and Border Patrol spokesman Ralph DeSio, who revealed the government’s fear that Dorner will make a dash for the Mexican border.”

A number of news sources, MSNNow included, stated that this was the first instance of airborne drones targeting a human target within the U.S. Not so: Among a handful of instances, police in North Dakota used a Predator drone (unarmed) in 2011 to track down the Brossart family — anti-government separatists who refused to return cows that had wandered onto their land.

As Gizmodo’s Eric Limer noted, the drones employed to search for Dorner are also “presumably” unarmed. “Should armed drones actually be authorized to fire on Dorner, then it would be a first, and frankly a terrifying precedent,” wrote Limer.

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A source named only as a “senior police source” reportedly told the U.K.’s Daily Express: “The thermal imaging cameras the drones use may be our only hope of finding him. On the ground, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Asked directly if drones have already been deployed, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, who is jointly leading the task force, said: “We are using all the tools at our disposal.”

The LAPD and the media believe that Dorner is responsible for killing a Riverside Police officer and a couple. There seems to be little evidence that Dorner actually committed the three murders. (see story below). Nevertheless, today Prosecutors filed a capital murder charge against Dorner for the killing of Riverside police officer Michael Crain,that could bring the death penalty -- assuming he has a trial and they actually prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he's 'that type of guy.' The charges do not involve the slayings of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence. [MORE] He was also charged with the attempted murder of three other officers. [MORE]