With the state and local governments near bankruptcy and Sequester facing the feds March 1, lots of luck with that.
FINAL COST FOR CHRISTOPHER DORNER MANHUNT COULD BE IN THE MILLIONS
By Andrew Edwards and Rick Orlov
Los Angeles Daily News
February 22, 2013
Law enforcement agencies that used the most resources pursuing murder suspect Christopher Jordan Dorner may soon be looking at a total tab that could reach into the millions of dollars.
No estimates are yet available and a full public accounting may never be given in what was one of the largest law enforcement operations in recent memory.
Whatever the final costs, they are likely to be so high that Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has already directed staffers to learn whether any state or federal funds could be available to reimburse the city and other jurisdictions.
"We are looking at it kind of like the fire departments do when there is a big regional event," Los Angeles police Lt. Andy Neiman said.
"The chief has directed we look to see if any grants are available for an emergency situation."
From the Feb. 8 morning when Dorner's burning car was discovered in Big Bear Lake to the Feb. 12 afternoon when he likely shot himself to death while surrounded by SWAT deputies in a burning cabin near Barton Flats, the case involved hundreds of officers from an assortment of agencies.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles Police Department respectively led efforts to find Dorner and protect numerous people - police officers and their family members - believed to be at risk during Dorner's self- declared war against the LAPD.
The two agencies were joined, however, by personnel from the Irvine and Riverside police departments investigating the deaths of those whom Dorner is believed to have killed. Other agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and state Fish and Wildlife, whose wardens exchanged gunfire with Dorner on the manhunt's final day, also contributed to the search.
A partial list of law enforcement resources devoted to the Dorner case:
• At its peak, 125 law enforcement officers from several agencies worked through snowy weather while on search teams in the Big Bear Lake area.
• Roughly 275 Los Angeles police officers were assigned to protect 50 potential Dorner targets and their family members.
• Two helicopters equipped with FLIR technology, which employs thermal imagery, were used to detect body heat.
• FBI crime lab and profiling resources were also used.
Los Angeles officials are compiling the costs of the Dorner case, which involved hundreds of officers assigned to both protective details for those threatened by him as well as investigators and administrative staffers.
"We all were working extra hours on it and there will be a lot of overtime, either paid or compensatory time off," Neiman said. "Our Fiscal Operations Division is pulling together the figures to determine the full cost."
That full accounting of the LAPD's expenses is still a few weeks away, said Patty Huber, an assistant city administrator who declined to venture a rough estimate.
While the Dorner search was still active, Los Angeles Councilman Dennis Zine said he had not been given detailed estimates but expected the costs to reach into millions of dollars.
"The cost is absolutely expensive, but it's a cost that we need to save lives," Los Angeles Councilman Dennis Zine said last week.
Los Angeles devotes nearly $1.2 billion of the city's $4 billion budget to its Police Department.
Huber said the city's $229 million in budget reserves should be strong enough to weather the costs of the Dorner manhunt in the event the LAPD needs to make a supplemental budget request.
"We're not going to be the next San Bernardino," Huber said.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department may never actually release figures for how much was spent during the Feb. 8-12 manhunt.
San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert said that since the sheriff, usually an elected officer, does not have to answer directly to the Board of Supervisors, it is not customary for the sheriff to provide a detailed accounting of spending beyond his annual budget request.
"We haven't gotten an indication from the sheriff that he's going to ask for additional funding," Wert said.
Sheriff's officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Janice Rutherford, who chairs the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, said she would expect the Sheriff's Department to assess its costs and performance in the Dorner case, but she does not expect results to be known for some time.
"They've spent the past week planning for the funeral and grieving," Rutherford said Thursday.
Dorner is believed to have killed sheriff's Deputy Jeremiah MacKay on the final day of the manhunt. MacKay's funeral was Thursday.
Dorner is believed to have killed Riverside police Officer Michael Crain and an Irvine couple, Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence.
Dorner wrote in an online manifesto to be seeking revenge for his 2009 dismissal from the LAPD. He claimed to have been wrongfully fired for reporting a training officer's abusive use of force, and Beck has announced the LAPD will reexamine his claims.
No comments:
Post a Comment