The ex-LAPD officer who died during a fiery gunfight while being pursued for a revenge-motivated killing spree garnered support online for his statements in a widely read manifesto.
But after Christopher Dorner’s death on Feb. 12, that support has been on display as posters of his image above the word "hope" have been plastered throughout Southland neighborhoods on utility boxes and billboards, including on a Girl Scouts cookies advertisement.
Signs of support for the rogue officer aren't just being posted; they're being inked.
A 23-year-old man, who only identified himself as Mark, elected to tattoo Dorner’s smiling face on his arm (pictured below). He said it's a symbol of standing up to what he called a corrupt system of law enforcement.
"I don't necessarily have much love for the LAPD myself, as I've had my share of altercations with them," he said.
"I guess you can say it was a form of rebellion."
More than 40 flyers posted in Riverside -- where a police officer was killed allegedly by Dorner -- have been taken down by city crews. The City of Los Angeles' Public Works Department said it will remove the signs, if they are reported.
Despite the apparent proliferation of support, many residents said regardless of Dorner's message, the man accused of killing innocent people should never be hailed a hero.
"There's absolutely no way to explain anything like that," said Andre Vlasov. "Hope? Hope for what? That there's going to be more people like that out there going around and killing other people? That's just insane."
Soon after police announced that Dorner was wanted in the slayings of a former police captain’s daughter and her fiancé in Irvine, several Facebook pages appeared in support of the fired LAPD officer who vowed to attack law enforcement agents and their families until the department cleared his name.
Police said Dorner went on to attack a pair of on-duty officers waiting at a red light in Riverside, killing Officer Michael Crain. Then, in his last standoff with authorities, Dorner fatally shot Detective Jeremiah MacKay during a gunfight in Big Bear, authorities said.
Two days after Dorner's remains were identified, a protest outside LAPD headquarters drew about two dozen demonstrators who said they "stand with Dorner."
Facebook pages and posts, tweets and street flyers appear to be motivated by an anti-police attitude that the ex-officer espouses in his manifesto.
In an 11,400-word manifesto published online, Dorner accused the LAPD of nurturing a culture of racism and demanded the department reopen the case into his 2008 firing from force, which came after Dorner reported a colleague for alleged brutality.
The former police officer died from a single gunshot wound to the head as authorities descended on him as he was barricaded inside a mountain cabin east of Los Angeles, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.
Photo Credit: believekevin via Flickr