Wanted Ex-Cop Possibly in Shootout, Chase

Fugitive former cop Christopher Dorner has barricaded himself inside a mountain cabin near Big Bear, Calif., and exchanged gunfire with police who had pursued him after he broke into a home in the area, authorities said.

Two San Bernadino County Sheriff's deputies injured in the firefight and subsequently airlifted to a nearby hospital. The extent of their injuries is unknown.

Dozens of local, state and federal authorities are at the scene in the San Bernadino Mountains, surrounding the cabin and engaged in an intense standoff with Dorner, a former Navy marksman who swore to kill police and their family members in a manifesto discovered online last week.

Dorner is believed to have broken into another home nearby and taken two women hostage before stealing a car, police said. Officials say Dorner crashed the vehicle and fled on foot, where sheriff's deputies and state Fish and Game officers exchanged fire with him, before he barricaded himself in the cabin.

The two hostages, who were tied up by Dorner but later escaped, were evaluated by paramedics and were determined to be uninjured.

Police have sealed all roads going into the area and imposed a no-fly zone above the cabin, which is in a wooded area that has received several inches of snow in recent days.

Four Big Bear area schools were briefly placed on lockdown.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department stopped all traffic leaving the area and thoroughly searched vehicles, as SWAT team and tactical units could be seen driving toward the cabin, their sirens blaring.

Los Angeles Police Department/AP Photo

Christopher Dorner Manhunt: An International Search? Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Police Offer Million-Dollar Reward Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Search: LA Police Chief Reopens Former Officer's Case Watch Video

FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Dorner Manhunt

Authorities believer Dorner may be watching reports of the standoff and have asked media not to broadcast images of police surrounding the cabin.

"If he's watching this, the message... is: Enough is enough. It's time to turn yourself in. It's time to stop the bloodshed. It's time to let this event and let this incident be over," said Los Angeles Police spokesman Andy Smith, told reporters at a press conference.

Dorner faces capital murder charges that involve the killing of Riverside police officer Michael Crain, who was gunned down in an ambush last Thursday.

Since then a massive manhunt has been underway, focused primarily in the San Bernardino Mountains, but extending to neighboring states and as far away as Mexico.

A capital murder charge could result in the death penalty if Dorner is captured alive and convicted. Crain was married with two children, aged 10 and 4.

The charges do not involve the slayings of Monica Quan and her fiance, who were found shot to death Feb. 3. Quan was the daughter of former LAPD Capt. Randal Quan, who was mentioned as a target of Dorner's fury in his so-called "manifesto," which he posted on his Facebook page.

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

In the 6,000 word "manifesto," Dorner outlined his anger at the Los Angeles Police Department for firing him, and made threats against individuals he believed were responsible for ending his career with the police force five years ago.

Dorner's grievance with police goes back five years when he was fired after filing a false report accusing other cops of brutality.

The LAPD has assigned 50 protection details to guard officers and their families who were deemed possible targets.

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Arctic sunshine cranks up threat from greenhouse gases

IT'S a solar double whammy. Not only does sunlight melt Arctic ice, but it also speeds up the conversion of frozen organic matter into carbon dioxide.

The amount of carbon in dead vegetation preserved in the far northern permafrost is estimated to be twice what the atmosphere holds as CO₂. Global warming could allow this plant matter to decompose, releasing either CO₂ or methane – both greenhouse gases. The extent of the risk remains uncertain because the release mechanisms are not clear.

Rose Cory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her colleagues analysed water from ponds forming on melting permafrost at 27 sites across the Arctic. They found that the amount of CO₂ released was 40 per cent higher when the water was exposed to ultraviolet light than when kept dark. This is because UV light, a component of sunlight, raises the respiration rate of soil bacteria and fungi, amplifying the amount of organic matter they break down and the amount of CO₂ released.

The thawing Arctic is emerging as a potentially major source of positive feedback that could accelerate global warming beyond existing projections. "Our task now is to quantify how fast this previously frozen carbon may be converted to CO₂, so that models can include the process," Cory says.

Journal reference: PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1214104110.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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IBM puts supercomputer to work on cancer

WASHINGTON: IBM is putting its Watson supercomputer to work fighting cancer, in what is described as the first commercial program of its kind to use "big data" to help patients with the disease.

The US computing giant last week unveiled its initiative with health insurer WellPoint and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

The supercomputer, which gained fame by defeating two human champions in the "Jeopardy!" quiz show, has been sifting through some 600,000 pieces of medical evidence, two million pages of text from 42 medical journals and clinical trials in oncology research.

This can speed up the way data is analysed to make the best diagnosis and find the optimal treatment, says Craig Thompson, Sloan-Kettering's president.

"It can take years for the latest developments in oncology to reach all practice settings," Thompson said.

"The combination of transformational technologies found in Watson with our cancer analytics and decision-making process has the potential to revolutionise the accessibility of information for the treatment of cancer in communities across the country and around the world."

IBM first announced plans to work with WellPoint in 2011, and last year began receiving data from the New York research hospital which specialises in cancer.

The first application will work with 1,500 lung cancer cases, where clinicians and analysts are training Watson to extract and interpret physician notes, lab results and clinical research.

The Maine Center for Cancer Medicine and Westmed Medical Group will be two centres testing the service and providing feedback to WellPoint, IBM and Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

"IBM's work with WellPoint and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center represents a landmark collaboration in how technology and evidence based medicine can transform the way in which health care is practiced," said Manoj Saxena at IBM.

"These breakthrough capabilities bring forward the first in a series of Watson-based technologies, which exemplifies the value of applying big data and analytics and cognitive computing to tackle the industry's most pressing challenges."

The program is being commercialised under the name Interactive Care Insights for Oncology, powered by Watson.

Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas Watson, can ingest tens of million pages of data in just seconds.

- AFP/jc

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How the humble light projector supercharges your tech

Here's one good, quick, easy way to find a vein: flash some light on it.

(Credit:
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

With the flick of a switch and a flash of green light, a network of veins springs to the fore, mapped out below the surface of the skin. This is no medical lab -- it's a darkened suite inside San Francisco's designer Clift Hotel -- but I already see how the recent sting of a donation nurse thumping the inside of both elbows in search of a vein could, and should, be a time-consuming thing of the past.

The Vein Viewer Flex isn't new. In fact, the first generation of VeinViewer debuted in 2006. But its use of infrared light to illuminate a hidden network within the body is seldom appreciated outside of medical circles.

Light, it turns out, and the projectors that channel it, can do quite a bit.

Let's go back to why I'm here in this dimly-lit hotel room in the first place, staring at squiggly lines under infrared light. It's because DLP, a subsidiary of Texas Instruments (which also makes smartphone and
tablet processors), is showing off the various ways its partners use its chips.

There are the cinema-grade chips you encounter in every IMAX theater and even in home projectors like this one. Then there are the much tinier pico projectors show up in everything from phone-charging sleeves and specialty toys to tablets and smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Beam.

The demo table also holds a 3D printer that uses UV light produced from the DLP chipset to help cure the resin, a technique that DLP claims will create more accurate printables with higher-resolution details.

Beckoning me to a second room within the suite, the TI team reveals a tall, thick bust of a
car console, illuminated from behind by -- you guessed it -- a DLP projector chipset.

The console idea, which CNET car tech writers saw in a concept Bentley this past January, features a long touch screen and dials that are devoid of any circuitry.

Although you twist the volume and jog wheels as you would in any other car, it's an infrared camera and infrared light that track your motions and respond with shifting 1080p HD imagery. The result of the demo was a responsive display that supports taps, gestures, and logic to determine if it's the driver or passenger calling the shots.

Since the car console uses no traditional capacitive film, it you won't have to worry if you're wearing gloves. DLP thinks

Samsung Galaxy Beam's cool, built-in projector

DLP is also working on an even more involved heads-up display that inserts some augmented reality into the mix. Sometime starting in 2016, look for your navigation assistant to project a turn signal in your sight line so it looks like it's in the middle of the road, marking out exactly where you want to turn, rather than as a vague suggestion that prompts you to careen down an alley. Expect German car-makers to lead the way.

DLP isn't the only maker of projection chipsets by a long shot, and its partners and developers have long hacked its components for commercial and home-grown use.

Now, though, the company is taking a more proactive approach in supplying drivers and software to developers, so its projectors show up in more places, maybe even in your tablet or living room.

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Kumbh Mela: Pictures From the Hindu Holy Festival

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  Holy Bath

  Photograph by Roberto Schmidt, AFP/Getty Images

  The Hindu festival known as Kumbh Mela, often referred to as the world’s largest gathering of humanity, peaked on Sunday at the meeting of the Yamuna, Ganges, and mythical Saraswati rivers. The festival in the northern Indian city of Allahabad sees tens of millions of pilgrims bathe in the Ganges to wash away sins. Pilgrims and saints pray as they soak.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  New Initiates

  Photograph by Sheeraz Rizvi, Hindustan Times/Getty Images

  Newly initiated Hindu ascetics perform rituals during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival happens every three years in one of four Indian cities, with the event in Allahabad considered the holiest. It’s also the biggest.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Sacred Fire

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  Hindu priests perform a ceremony beside the Ganges River during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival lasts 55 days.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  River Sitting

  Photograph by Baciu Cristian, Demotix/Corbis

  A Hindu ascetic performs a ritual last month during the 2013 Kumbh Mela.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Bridge Crossings

  Photograph by Manish Swarup, AP

  Believers walk on pontoon bridges to take a dip at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers, a site known as Sangam. The processions are led by heads of monasteries and by naked ascetics smeared with ash.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Stampede Victim

  Photograph by Manan Vatsyayana, AFP/Getty Images

  A woman injured in a Sunday stampede that left 36 dead in Allahabad lies in a hospital bed in the city. There are conflicting accounts of what provoked the stampede.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Train Rush

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  Hindu devotees at the Allahabad train station press toward an arriving train.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  











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  Train Station Prayer

  Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images

  A Hindu believer waits for a train at the Allahabad train station, the site of Sunday’s stampede.

  Published February 11, 2013

  
  

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Great Energy Challenge Blog

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Liver cancer survival time tripled by virus

The virus used in the vaccine that helped eradicate smallpox is now working its magic on liver cancer. A genetically engineered version of the vaccinia virus has trebled the average survival time of people with a severe form of liver cancer, with only mild, flu-like side effects.

Thirty people with hepatocellular carcinoma received three doses of the modified virus – code-named JX-594 – directly into their liver tumour over one month. Half the volunteers received a low dose of the virus, the other half a high dose. Members of the low and high-dose groups subsequently survived for, on average, 6.7 and 14.1 months respectively. By contrast, trials several years ago showed that sorafenib, the best existing medication for this cancer, prolonged life by only three months.

Two of the patients on the highest viral dose were still alive more than two years after the treatment. "It's a very substantial survival benefit," says Laurent Fischer, president of Jennerex, the company in San Francisco developing the treatment under the trade name Pexa-Vec.

Besides shrinking the primary tumour, the virus was able to spread to and shrink any secondary tumours outside the liver. "Some tumours disappeared completely, and most showed partial destruction on MRI scans," says David Kirn, head of the study at Jennerex. Moreover, the destruction was equally dramatic in the primary and secondary tumours.

"This clinical trial is an exciting step forward to help find a new way of treating cancers," says Alan Melcher of the University of Leeds, UK, who was not involved in the study. "It helps demonstrate the cancer-fighting potential of viruses, which have relatively few side effects compared with traditional chemo or radiotherapy," he says. "If it proves effective in larger trials, it could be available to patients within five years."

The fact that the virus appears able to spread to secondary tumours suggests that simply injecting the virus into the bloodstream may be effective. A trial to compare this treatment with injecting the virus directly into a tumour is under way.

Targeted at cancer

The virus has had a gene coding for an enzyme called thymidine kinase snipped out. The enzyme enables the virus to recognise and infect dividing cells. By removing the gene, the virus's developers have reduced the likelihood of healthy dividing cells being infected.

Instead, the virus exclusively attacks cancerous tissue, by targeting two genes that have increased activity in tumour cells. One genes is associated with an epidermal growth factor receptor, which stimulates the cancer to grow. The other is associated with a vascular endothelial growth factor, which enables the cancer to recruit its own blood supply. The virus reduces the activity of both genes, causing the infected cancer cell to wither and die.

What's more, the virus carries extra genes to prod the body's own immune system into action against the cancer. One produces granulocyte colony stimulating factor, a protein that encourages production of extra white blood cells at sites of infection. The other produces a protein not naturally found in humans, called Lac-Z, that earmarks infected cells for destruction.

Fischer says that to date, more than 200 people have received the virus, which has also shown promise against other types of cancer, including those of the kidney and skin. But he warns that not everyone sees a benefit. "We know why patients respond, but not why they don't," he says.

Journal reference: Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/nm.3089

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

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Basketball: Balanced attack propels Clippers past Knicks

NEW YORK: The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the New York Knicks 102-88 with the help of a strong bench attack and Chris Paul's 25 points, seven assists and a half dozen rebounds.

Jamal Crawford had a team high 27 points and Blake Griffin finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who won despite 42 points from New York forward Carmelo Anthony at Madison Square Garden.

Los Angeles won for the second time in three National Basketball Association games as their reserves easily outscored New York's bench 48-15.

Anthony also had eight rebounds and Raymond Felton was the only other member of the Knicks to score in double figures, finishing with 20 points. The Knicks have lost two of their last three games.

The Clippers held a 71-70 edge heading into the fourth quarter.

Crawford and Eric Bledsoe combined for 13 points during a 19-5 run in the fourth to put the Clippers ahead 90-78 with five minutes to play.

The Knicks rebounded with an 8-2 push to get back within 92-86 but Los Angeles scored the next seven points to regain a 13-point lead with 1:11 left and cruised to the win.

It was Paul's second game back after missing nine straight with a bruised right kneecap.

The Pacific Division-leading Clippers are now 16-12 on the road and will close out their current road swing on Monday at Philadelphia.

- AFP/jc

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Did Google Earth error send murderer to wrong address?

Dennis and Merna Koula.

(Credit:
CBS News.com Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

Sometimes, even after a murder conviction, some see reasonable doubt that the conviction was a righteous one.

Such is the case in the murder of Dennis and Merna Koula in La Cross, Wisc, a quiet community.

Their son Eric was found guilty and is currently serving two consecutive life-sentences for the murder of the wealthy couple.

It was Eric Koula who found the body. It was Eric Koula whose alibi didn't stand up. Eric Koula was broke.

Yet as CBS News' "48 Hours" reported, there are some inconsistencies that some can't quite put aside. They include John Christophersen, a special agent at the time with the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

It was said at the trial that Eric Koula treated his father as an ATM. There was a $50,000 check that he cashed right after his parents died.

It was a check from his father. Eric Koula had forged the signature -- something he claimed to have done many times.

But, as his attorney said at the trial: "What sort of an idiot would put a check in the bank the morning after they killed their parents, knowing that bank records are easy to get?"

To some eyes, the murder seemed like a professional hit. No valuables were taken. And there was no DNA evidence to implicate Eric Koula.

Moreover, there was another idea that investigators began to pursue at the time. A neighbor of the Koula's, Steve Burgess, freely admitted that he had received death threats. He was the president of a local bank.

More Technically Incorrect

And, as the CBS News investigation indicated (embedded, but there are some gaps in the audio), if you use Google Earth to locate Burgess' house, you get a surprise.

"48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant said: "In fact, when you Google Earth Steve Burgess' address...the zoom into the house goes to the Koula's house, not to Steve Burgess' house."

Police say they discounted the threatening caller, as they located him and he had an alibi. But then could that individual have hired someone to do any allegedly required dirty work, a person who used Google Earth to go to the wrong house?

This story brings to mind the even more recent case of the alleged murder of Rodrigo Diaz. His friends claim that his GPS had led him to the wrong house.

The owner of that house allegedly became annoyed or threatened by the presence of Diaz and his friends. This resulted in Diaz being shot in what lawyers for the accused, Phillip Sailors, say was a case of self-defense.

The jury in the trial of Eric Koula believed there was enough evidence to convict him.

Others look at the evidence they see on Google Earth and still have their doubts.

Read More..

Year of the Snake: The Serpent Behind the Horoscope

On February 10, people all around the world will ring in the Lunar New Year with paper lanterns and firecrackers. At the heart of it all sits the snake, a slithery reptile feared for its sharp fangs and revered for its undeniable charm. (Watch videos of some of the world's deadliest snakes.)

Those born in the Year of the Snake are said to be intelligent and quick thinking, but they can also be dishonest and prone to show off. Though based on Chinese astrology, some of these traits are similar to characteristics of the actual serpent.

Snakes are known to be great at outsmarting their predators and prey. Their colorful, patterned skin makes them some of the best tricksters in the animal kingdom. And despite a bad rap as frightening creatures, snakes never fail to fascinate scientists, explorers, and zoo-goers. (See pictures of snakes.)

With more than 3,400 recognized species, snakes exhibit incredible diversity in everything from behavior and habitats to skin colors and patterns.

"As a vertebrate lacking in limbs, all snakes look largely like other snakes, yet they succeed in tremendous diversity in multiple directions," said Andrew Campbell, herpetology collections manager at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute.

To usher in the Year of the Snake, Campbell and herpetologist Dennis Ferraro at University of Nebraska-Lincoln weigh in on some of the snake's qualities that the Chinese zodiac predicts people born this year will have.

Horoscope: Snakes have an innately elegant personality but can also be ostentatious at times.

In Nature: Snakes come in all different colors, patterns, and textures, making them some of nature's most visually stunning creatures.

According to Campbell, the utility of their coloring falls into two main categories: to use as camouflage and to warn predators to stay away.

Among the most beautiful are the emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus)—whose vibrant green body is decorated with white stripes resembling lightning bolts—and the Brazilian rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchria), characterized by its iridescent skin and the large black rings down its back.

For some snakes, the diversity in color occurs within the same species, which is why Ferraro tells his student not to identify snakes by colors. For example, the polymorphic bush viper (Atheris squamigera), many of which are green, also come in shades of yellow, orange, red, and blue, as captured in photographer Guido Mocafico's "Serpent Still Life" photo series.

Horoscope: The snake is known to be the master seducer of the Chinese zodiac.

In Nature: Female garter snakes (Thamnophis) have all the luck with the gentlemen.

When a female garter snake is ready to mate, she announces it by producing chemicals called pheromones. Males, upon encountering the scent, immediately come crawling out and gather around the female in a large, wriggling "mating ball."

The competition intensifies when a male passing by the ball tries to fool the others by producing a scent that mimics that of the female, said Ferraro.

As soon as his rivals are led off in the wrong direction, the trickster slides right in. In areas with smaller populations of garter snakes, each ball consists of about 12 males and one female.

But in places like Manitoba, Canada, where garter snakes travel to certain areas to mate after coming out of hibernation, a mating ball can have thousands of males and only a hundred females.

Horoscope: Though snakes don't often tell lies, they will use deception when they feel it's necessary and they think they can get away with it.

In Nature: When it comes to using trickery to catch dinner, or to hide from predators, snakes are no amateurs.

Their sneaky techniques range from tricking fish to swim right into their mouths, to playing dead when threatened, to using their wormlike tails to lure in prey.

The most cunning of them all is the two-headed snake. To protect against a sneak attack from behind, the two-headed snake's tail looks just like its head. While the business end looks for food, the snake coils up its body and rests its tail on top to look like it is on guard.

The tail can even mimic the behavior of a retreating snake to trick predators into thinking they're going face-to-face with their opponent.

Horoscope: When snakes get down to work, they are organized and highly efficient, and they work quickly and quietly.

In Nature: While snakes are often perceived as lazy, Campbell said people are mistaken. "What we perceive as shy, lazy, or inactive is really efficiency," he said.

"On average, they are bigger than other lizards and can build a lot of body mass. They do that by being efficient in feeding and traveling." In other words, snakes don't move very much because they don't have to.

When it comes to food, snakes catch prey that are significantly larger than them so they can eat less frequently. This reduces the time they spend hunting and thus makes them less vulnerable to falling victim to a predator themselves.

For Campbell, the most impressive hunter is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus Adamanteus), which is able to hunt and kill its prey very quickly using venom, so it doesn't have to travel far. "Because they don't have to do that, they can become relatively large and heavy, being able to build up body mass and not having to spend that energy hunting."

Horoscope: Snakes are charming, with excellent communication skills.

In Nturea: For snakes, their visual and auditory senses don't mean much when it comes to communicating with each other.

Instead, they use their sense of smell and the chemicals produced by their musk glands. Unlike mammals, a snake picks up scent through the forks of its tongue.

When the snake retracts its tongue, it inserts the forks into grooves in an olfactory organ located at the roof of its mouth. Depending on which fork picks up a stronger scent, the snake knows in which direction to go when looking for prey or a mate.

It's when snakes are threatened that they use sight and sound, said Ferraro. Rattlesnakes, for example, shake their tails, making a loud rattling noise to ward off predators.

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$1M Reward for Capture of Fugitive Ex-Cop Dorner

A $1 million reward was offered today for information leading to the arrest of Christopher Dorner, as authorities in Big Bear, Calif., scaled back their search for the disgruntled ex-cop, who is suspected in three revenge killings.

"This is the largest local reward ever offered, to our knowledge," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference today. "This is an act of domestic terrorism. This is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. His actions cannot go unanswered."

The money for the reward was pooled by businesses, government, local law enforcement leaders and individual donors, Beck said.

PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings

The reward comes on the fourth day of a manhunt for Dorner, who has left Southern California on edge after he allegedly went on a killing spree last week to avenge his firing from the police force. Dorner outlined his grievances in a 6,000 word so-called "manifesto" and said he will keep killing until the truth is known about his case.

Dorner's threats have prompted the LAPD to provide more than 50 law enforcement families with security and surveillance detail, Beck said.

Authorities are chasing leads, however they declined to say where in order to not impede the investigation.

Dorner's burned-out truck was found Thursday near Big Bear Lake, a popular skiing destination located 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Irvine Police Department/AP Photo

Manhunt for Alleged Cop Killer Heads to California Mountains Watch Video

Christopher Dorner Search: Officials Search for Ex-officer in the Mountains Watch Video

Hundreds of Officers on Hunt for Alleged Cop Killer Watch Video

Investigators found two AR-15 assault rifles in the burned-out truck Dorner abandoned, sources told ABC News.

The truck had a broken axle, which may be the reason he decided to set fire to it, the police sources said.

Full Coverage: Christopher Jordan Dorner

Officers have spent the past couple of days going door-to-door and searching vacant cabins. The manhunt was scaled back to 25 officers and one helicopter in the resort town today, according to the San Bernadino Sheriff's Office.

On Saturday, Beck announced he would reopen the investigation into Dorner's firing but said the decision was not made to "appease" the fugitive ex-cop.

"I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner's allegations regarding his termination of employment, and to do so I have directed our Professionals Standards Bureau and my Special Assistant for Constitutional Policing to completely review the Dorner complaint of 2007; To include a re-examination of all evidence and a re-interview of witnesses," Beck said. "We will also investigate any allegations made in his manifesto which were not included in his original complaint."

Dorner is suspected of killing Monica Quan and her fiancé Keith Lawrence last Sunday in their car in the parking lot of their Irvine, Calif., condominium complex. Both were struck with multiple gunshot wounds.

Quan's father, Randall Quan, was a retired captain with the LAPD and attorney who represented Dorner before a police review board that led to Dorner's dismissal from the force in 2008.

On Wednesday, after Dorner was identified as a suspect in the double murder, police believe he ambushed two Riverside police officers, killing one and wounding the other.

The next day, Randall Quan reported he received a taunting call from a man claiming to be Dorner who told him that he "should have done a better job of protecting his daughter," according to court documents documents.

Anyone with information leading to the arrest of Christopher Dorner is asked to call the LAPD task force at 213-486-6860.

ABC News' Dean Schabner, Jack Date, Pierre Thomas, Jason Ryan and Clayton Sandell contributed to this report.

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