- <b>By Cedric "Big Ced" Thornton<b> <br> <br> Ex-LAPD officer, Christopher Dorner, is not the first person who has shot a cop and developed a following (maybe fascination is a better word) based on what some feel is an injustice in how police operate and/or treat minorities in their community. Whether it's some who cheer the bad guy or just feel that, sometimes enough is enough, Dorner is just the latest who has captured, albeit a small minority, the attention of some in this country who almost feel as if he is vindicating some of the wrongs of the police department's supposed prejudices towards minorities. No doubt, there is a rapper who has already recorded vocals with a mention of Dorner.
LA Police Shootings
- <b>Mumia Abu Jamal<b> <br> <br> 'Free Mumia!' This was a popular phrase years ago in discussing the plight of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Convicted of killing Daniel Faulkner, a Philadelphia police officer, in 1981, he was sentenced to death for it. Many have stated he is innocent and didn't receive a fair trial and there have been protests and even a record recorded by Channel Live and KRS-ONE, 'Free Mumia', that showed he had great support within the black community. 30 years after his 1982 conviction, he had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment last year.
- <b>Huey P. Newton<b> <br> <br> Huey P. Newton co-founded the rebellious, activist group, The Black Panthers, in 1966. During the height of the civil rights movement, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was preaching non-violence, Newton took more of a direct, revolutionary approach to his activism. As you can imagine, it didn't sit well with law enforcement. He was accused of shooting and killing police officer, John Frey, after being pulled over. Newton was convicted in September 1968 of voluntary manslaughter for the killing of Frey before having the conviction reversed and after having 2 mistrials, the matter was dismissed.
- <b>Howard 'Pappy' Mason<b> <br> <br> Howard 'Pappy' Mason and his partner, Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, were of legendary status in the drug game in Queens, NY during the late 80s. While in jail, awaiting trial on gun charges, police officer Edward Byrne, was murdered on orders from Pappy Mason. Mason was given a life sentence in 1994 and name checked by popular NY rappers 50 Cent, Jay Z and Nas.
- <b>Larry Davis<b> <br> <br> Larry Davis was infamous for shooting 6 NYC police officers and then eluding them for 17 days while the city held a frantic search in 1986; eerily similar to the current Christopher Dorner manhunt. His defense claimed that police were actually coming to kill him because of his knowledge of police corruption at that time. He became a hero in the black community at the time because of the frustration of what people perceived to be the constant mistreatment of minorities by the police department. <br> Does that sound familiar?
