LAPD Capt. Phil Tingirides and LAPD Sgt. Emada Tingirides recalled fearful and anxious days under police protection, after their eight-member family was targeted by former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner.
Bullet holes in front doors, trees and a kitchen serve as reminders of the chaos brought to their Torrance, Calif. neighborhood during a frantic manhunt for an ex-police officer bent on revenge killings.
Nine bullets pierced a tree on Redbeam Avenue where two newspaper delivery women were shot by police officers who had mistaken them for fugitive Christopher Dorner.
Margie Carranza and her 71-year-old mother, Emma Hernandez, were delivering the Los Angeles Times before dawn near the home of a police officer named in Dorner’s angry manifesto.
The shooting occurred Feb. 7 after officers were notified of a truck that matched the description of Dorner’s gray 2005 Nissan Titan. Hernandez suffered two bullet wounds to the back. She was released from the intensive care unit and was recovering. Carranza, 47, had minor injuries related to shattered glass and a wounded finger.
The women’s lawyer counted 102 bullet holes in their blue Toyota Tacoma and several more in Hernandez’s hoodie.
Weeks later, memories of the shooting were still evident, with five bullet holes piercing a home’s front door and more in walls and garages that lined the street.
"My guess is that they threw policy out the window and got in trouble," said resident Steve McDonald, whose solar panels sustained bullet damage. "They're lucky they didn't hit each other because there were bullets flying every which way."
More news from NBCLosAngeles.com
NBC4 has learned that eight LAPD officers were involved in the shootout. All of them have been assigned to non-field assignments until "the [police] chief decides otherwise."
So far, their names have not been released and there has been no comment from the Los Angeles District Attorney about pressing charges.
An attorney for the women, Glen Jonas said he’ll let the investigation run its course.
"If the city wants to do it the easy way and get it resolved; if they want to do it for hard way, then we’ll file a lawsuit," he said.
Police said they cannot comment on on-going internal investigations.
But some residents, despite being so close to the gunfire, said they understand the officers’ actions.
"I think they have to be supported through this," said Joanne Arnn. "Yes, it's unfortunate, thank goodness no one here was fatally injured, but it's not a very safe world."
Arnn said that Torrance Police Department contacted each household on the block to learn if anyone was injuries and offered to pay for any damage to their homes.
About two blocks away and thirty minutes after the women were shot, a Redondo Beach man was fired upon by officers who also mistook him for the wanted Dorner.
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Tingirides is a soft, pencil pushing premadonna who has only been shot at by his kids with a water pistol. What a weak, douchebag. I'll reserve comment on his wife as I don't know her.
LAPD is obviously still very much a corrupt, bloated, sadistic agency not serving or protecting anyone but themselves.
One need only look at how their supposed top tier officers recklessly opened fire on citizens without identifying target, without regard for backstop and now failing to prosecute parties involved.
Woe to the people of Los Angeles. LAPD should be disbanded and save the tax payer billions.
Police officers on pretty much every level in this country are trained and encouraged to be abject cowards. This is done in the name of safety first (the officer's safety NOT the public's). They are told over and over again not to take ANY chances. If a 6 year old points something that looks like a gun at you, don't hesitate or take cover and investigate, just quickly blow the 6 year old away. Better him/her than you right? Of course in this case there was also the fact that they wanted revenge. They intended to commit a premeditated murder of Dorner. Unfortunately most big city cops are dirty thanks to prohibition V2.0, just as they were corrupted by prohibition V1.0. Those who ignore history have no past (and no future).
I wonder why everyone is missing this fact: When a civilian is shot, everyone involved is put on mandatory leave pending an investigation! Yet these police are put on other assignments until the police chief decides what to do with them?
Something thing is really wrong here!
Kinda - makes you wonder? – Might need to ponder; which case of revenge killing was more dangerous to the general Public.. Dorner or LAPD? Given the intensity of the fusillade of small arms and other firearm rounds laid on the target, as well as the disregard for obvious collateral damage – it's a wonder the targets are alive
I believe Officer Ted Litvin could have been one of the shooting officers (Who resides in Torrance, California); Remember his name, for later reference!
Your Grandmother would not be proud of you! :) :) :)
And some people wonder why I have raised my daughters to have no trust in police officers. They are to be feared much more than any average criminal. They can, and do execute people at will knowing that there will be no legal consequences. Serve my own interests and Protect my own ass.
Whenever you see any video of any robbery, the perp has on a hoodie...there is a time and place for a hoodie, at night is not the time...get a beanie or something else that doesn't cover your face...I don't let my kids wear a hoodie after dark...just good common sense these days...protect your kids,sometimes they just just need an explanation why....that's what good parents do!
I also noticed ... They (perps) all seem to be wearing tail-dragging jeans or below the knee silk, satin basketball shorts.
What else are we going to have to give up (I've saw more teens wearing Peruvian knit caps, with those tassles hanging down, they look might suspicious if you ask me - they are up to something!) - to keep the police (or self-styled, gun toting, pervert wanna-be "Neighborhood watch" imposters) from shooting children, teens or anyone else they either fear, trivialize or envy? A lot of people have admitted they don't like cops, yet! ... (so far) the need to shoot them if they so much as twitch, protest or look at you cross-eyed has been resisted by most of the general public.
So, in response to your remarkably ignorant comment which implies that wearing a hoodie is the root of all evil.....
Are you saying it is ok for cops and impotent little wanna-be-pigs, like the one who shot the black kid in Florida, to shoot anyone wearing a hoodie? Really? Did you practice to be this stupid?
With the possible, and I stress, possible exception of someone walking into a store wearing a full face mask, what someone is wearing should have no bearing on anything, much less a license to be shot! (On a cold winter day/night, some people wear face masks....unfortunately, so do armed robbers. Even then, this doesn't make it ok to open fire!)
Trigger happy morons should always, always be held accountable for the damage they cause. Trayvon Martin was murdered by a bigot. Period. These idiot cops should all go to prison. Period. Regardless of what someone is wearing, no one has the right to shoot anyone else, unless it is in self defense.
The cops are the same in Ut. Shoot then get a Paid Vac. and have your fellow officers investagate.
These LAPD wannabe Cops are about the dumbest around. They have a bad track record for over aggression, profiling, cover ups , lying, and getting away with murderer. Get some GOOD cops in there, if you can find any.
A 71 year old Spanish woman in a Blue Toyota truck is mistaken for a 33 year old 6 ft. 275 lb black guy in a Nissan truck? Eight police with NO warning open fire and shoot over 100 times at them? Anotherinnocent man a few blocks away is shot at by other cops
How come these cops are not in jail and being charged with attempted murder among other things?If a civilian had done something like what do you think would be happening?
Giving no warning and shooting on sight even when no obvious danger showed that the police intended to kill Dorner no matter what. Wasn't an isolated case either since multiple police were involved.This combined with the police heard talking about setting the cabin on fire on purpose makes you really wonder what Dorner would have brought out if he ever went to trial, sure sounds like the Police weren't going to let this happen.
What proof is there that Dorner killed anyone that wasn't trying to kill him?
102 shots and the Toyota truck protected the occupants against 100+ bullets? I want one.
This is an utter disgrace! Every one of these impotent little neo-nazis should be charged with attempted murder and sent to prison. It is no wonder that thousands of people, myself included, were actually rooting for Dorner!
Love your country? Shoot an LA cop in the face!
It seems that sence that village idiot from the lonley star state decided to pre-emptively invade Iraq and explain those actions later, its the way of any in authority. Shoot first and explain later why one acted like an idiot. In his defence, inbreading played a major role in his narrow hindedness so it realy wasn't all his fault. But now these LAPD officers must be thinking that they are sorry they didn't kill. First off, how sorry of a shot they must be for using enough ammo to quell a small insurection and only wounding two elderly women, just sad. Secoundly, now they and the department are going to get sued again for rogue officers that are not only trigger happy but realy piss poor shots. Thankfully I will not have to depend on them for protection
This is exactly what people don't want! Shoot first, in panic or excitement, and then think, ask questions, investigate and apologize later?
Who the heck would the police be apologizing to if those women, whose truck was riddled with 102 bullets (102?? Are you kidding me) if they had died?
If your own police force cannot think and behave with decorum and thought towards its innocent civilians, they are supposed to protect, then who can you rely on to protect you with thought, sense and sensitivity? No wonder people are buying their own guns and trying to protect themselves from dangerous citizens and stupid impulsive police?
And how much money is the State going to dole out every time this crap happens? Do you know how much the State spends, and how much of your tax payers' money is spent, in compensating victims for police misconduct, negligence, thoughtlessness, recklessness and misbehavior? It is close to several million dollars every year? Which system or State can afford this? If you are prone to anxiety, panic, impulse and cowardliness (that makes you shoot before investigating and thinking) then don't be a police officer! Simple!
Dorner was a military guy who probably had more courage in him to be a police officer who'll put his life on the line to protect the innocent while most police seem to want to shoot innocent people to protect their backsides because of their fear or sense of superiority. Who needs police like that?
There are good police...who are brave, smart and do the right thing. But few bad ones could destroy reputation, justice...and even kill. Get them out now!
The cops obviously can't handle their jobs and should be fired-all of them.
... it ain't like in the movies, is it folks? These guys were scared "s**tless", is my guess (no matinee heroes here, far from it! ). I venture that the average "big city" cop's worst nightmare was personified by this big, black, armed, trained and "pi**ed-off" Iraq veteran, a Navy (Full) Lieutenant, no less! An educated and accomplished black man, with a gun, a "manhunter" who want's a piece of the police departments azz, and knows how to get it! What a nightmare! If you're a member of a police force that has been "targeted" in this way, it can't get much worse than that. I'm 67 years old; I grew up in LA, was on the streets in Watts (both times) and I have "first-hand" experience with what the LAPD can be (if one is black) at it's worst. You can believe it; the department's less-than-stellar reputation, as it relates to race, has been both well earned and richly deserved. I've drawn no conclusions here; my opinions are my own and I will keep them to myself, for now. My point here is that karma can be a real 'bi*ch! And it is a sad and deadly shame that two innocent women had to die because of it.
Yoda, I agree with most of what you say, but they were only wounded and both survived, one with very minor injuries. LUCKY. is the word. 120 bullets fired and one hit. Pathetic Police Work.
... thanks, "SuperBrain", you are right; I got that one wrong. Good "catch..."
So much for gun grabbers arguments only cops should have guns...
How in the world do they fire on merely a similar vehicle? If you can't see a gun pointed AT YOU, you cant shoot. Let alone not even the face of the person driving. 2 old ladies?.
Anyone who let a bullett fly should be fired. You don't shoot at an unidentified target. Period.
I understand the mistake. Buts thats a showstopper.
If a race car driver turned around during the INDY 500 and started driving the wrong way....last ride for him..lol..
This bloodthirsty pack of trigger-happy idiots need to be fired AND prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
But the DA will NOT have the balls to do it. It is nearly ALWAYS like that.
I think cops blackmail DA's and judges, routinely. Cops routinely get away with, quite literally, MURDER.
Either that or DA's and judges have tinier balls than a gnat.
And now the LAPD won't even acknowledge me for the 1 million dollars reward that it had out for the where abouts of dorner, they act like how can i prove it when they know god dam well. As i had told them the northeast sector inside their perimeter. Now the LAPD owes me 1 million dollars and they not even acknowledged me yet. For my real name is James Lynn Tong. and everyone knows that they had checked with me on the location. They chose to use the powers that the usa is sworn to keep seperated, and with this I located dorner for them. But i don't think that they will ever acknowlede it.
This looks like a case of the jitters brought on by fear. The police officers were apparently so scared that they were firing at anybody even close to the house where Dorner was holed up. Police officers should be trained to be more cool under pressure and be sure of their target before they open fire. I think these officers should be held liable for the injuries to the women and their vehicle and their jobs terminated because it was more than mistaken identity. This was just plain reckless abandon and the eight officers have no business in this line of work. They are a danger to society and they failed to protect and to serve the public. Their are some mistakes you just don't make. You have to be scared out of your mind to shoot at a blue vehicle when you are supposed to be shooting at a gray vehicle. There is just no excuse for their behavior. When police are after a suspect and just start shooting at anybody in sight, instead of the person or persons that fit the describtion, they are not capable of being officers of the law and this shouldn't be just swept under the rug until they shoot more innocent bystanders because their judgement is clouded by fear. These officers need to be fired or placed behind desks and replaced by officers that are more cool under fire. I hope this is the last "mistake" they make as police officers.
Even military RoE usually requires verifying targets before opening fire. Isn't LAPD seeking drones? A hellfire missile hitting a car in a parking lot can ruin everyone's day that happens to be around it.
Seems like lately the media is bending over for police against innocent civilians. This piece quotes residents giving quarter to the police. How many residents did the writer hear wanting justice for innocent civilians victimized by these police? I bet the ratio was ten or twenty to one. I can't believe the press is OK with the five months the San
Diego prosecutor has been mute about the undercover Border Patrol killing a woman they weren't looking for.
In what reality is shooting up a car with unarmed people in it not a crime?
The neighbors "understand"? They "guess" someone got in trouble? Just amazing.
If these women had guns in their truck, one officer would have fired their guns, and the other seven would have testified these women opened fire on them. Not having any guns in their truck was their saving grace. Anytime police come across someone with a gun, that person is automatically deemed to be a criminal.
Nice job, morons. And, they wanna take my friggin' guns away. I play nice with mine. I have never shot anyone, shot at anyone or someone else's property. This will all be swept under the rug, and these yahoos will go back on the street doing what they do best...terrorizing innocent citizens.
God forbid they be fired and lose their cushy union retirement. The government has gone whacko and the American people are playing right into their hands. It has been a good ride, so glad I'm in the check-out line. Feel really bad for my kids and grandkids. We have left them a mess they will never recover from.
NBC4 has learned that eight LAPD officers were involved in the shootout. ??
Oh, they mean when the Police gauntletted 2 women in a truck and beyond a shadow of a doubt (102 facts to be exact) tried to murder them with extreme predjudice without identifying the threat?
Hey uhh, We here in the land of Laws have that written down;
It's Called Cospiracy to commit attempted murder... Reckless endangerment of the rest of the public, since bullets went into public homes. Anything less is Conspiracy to commit Obstruction of Justice.
Thank you for keeping the Law Transparent Criminals.
Nail on the head. If I'm not mistaken a shootout involves people shooting at each other. Not people shooting unarmed women.