The hunt for the scorned ex-LAPD cop, Christopher Dorner, is believed to have ended Tuesday night after a massive gunfight and standoff culminated in a fire that burned down the cabin that Dorner barricaded himself in. How the fire started is not known, but an audio recording suggests that police torched the cabin deliberately, knowing that Dorner was inside.
In police audio broadcast on local news channel KCAL 9, officers are heard yelling to burn the cabin down. The news followed an LAPD audio recording of a cop giving orders to go ahead with the plan:
Alright, we’re gonna go ahead with the plan with the burners like we talked about.
But the San Bernardino police department said that they did not intentionally set fire to the cabin.
Sheriff John McMahon said at an afternoon news conference:
We did not intend to burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner to come out.
McMahon said that officers fired “cold” tear gas into the cabin, but then switched to “pyrotechnic-type rounds” known as “burners.”