Women shot in Dorner manhunt settle for $4.2 million

LOS ANGELES -- The women injured when Los Angeles police opened fire on them during the manhunt for ex-cop Christopher Dorner have reached a $4.2-million settlement with the city, sources told The Times.


Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich announced a settlement had been reached Tuesday afternoon. More details were expected at a 2 p.m. news conference.

Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were delivering newspapers in Torrance on Feb. 7 when LAPD officers shot  repeatedly at their blue Toyota Tacoma. Hernandez was shot twice in the back, and Carranza was injured by broken glass, an attorney for the women said.

The officers were protecting the home of a high-ranking LAPD official named in a threatening manifesto authorities said was written by Dorner, and they believed that the official could have been a potential target. Dorner at the time had already killed the daughter of an LAPD captain, her fiance -- a USC police officer -- and a Riverside police officer, officials said.

Dorner was believed to be driving a gray Nissan Titan, and there was an alert preceding the shooting that said a truck matching Dorner's was in the area.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck called the shooting "a tragic misinterpretation" by officers working under "incredible tension" hours after Dorner allegedly shot police officers. Beck promised to provide a truck from a donor regardless of potential litigation by the women.

Last month, the women received a $40,000 check from the city to cover the loss of the truck.

When announcing the check had been delivered, Trutanich said the settlement was "the legal and morally right thing to do both for the individuals involved and the taxpayers of this city."

From the LA Times