City Pays $40K to Newspaper Delivery Women Mistakenly Shot at in Dorner Manhunt

The $40,000 check was provided as compensation for the bullet-riddled newspaper delivery pickup at which officers fired during the initial stages of the search for an ex-LAPD officer

A $40,000 check was delivered to the office of an attorney for two newspaper delivery women whose pickup was shot up by Los Angeles police in a case of mistaken identity during the early hours of the weeklong Southern California manhunt for ex-officer Christopher Dorner.

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Emma Hernandez and daughter Margie Carranza were shot early Feb. 7 as they drove their Toyota Tacoma near the Torrance home of an officer named in Dorner's revenge plot manifesto. Officers providing protection because of the Dorner threat opened fire after mistaking the truck -- which police confirmed Tuesday had its headlights on and hazards lights flashing -- for Dorner's Nissan Titan, found later that day on fire in the mountains east of Los Angeles.

A $40,000 check (scroll down for image) from the City of Los Angeles was delivered Monday to the office of the women's attorney. The money is intended to cover the cost of the damaged pickup, which was pierced with 102 bullet holes, according to their attorney.

After the shooting in Torrance, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck apologized and announced plans to replace the damaged pickup, but the women refused after they were told they needed to fill out a 1099 form and pay income taxes for the donation, their attorney said last week.

The city attorney's office then reached an agreement to pay the $40,000. The agreement released both sides from liability for the property loss, and it allowed the truck to be used by the city as evidence until it's no longer needed.

The money will come out of the city's general fund.

Hernandez was shot in the back and still suffers from nerve pain, her attorney said.

 

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