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Erin Burnett Outfront

Authorities: Burned Truck Belongs To Former Cop; Alleged Cop Killer Reaches Out To CNN; Iran Claims It Decoded Footage From U.S. Drone; Historic Blizzard To Slam Northeast

Aired February 07, 2013 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, breaking news, a massive manhunt underway for an ex-cop, allegedly seeking murderous revenge on his own police department.

Plus, what the suspect is believed to have sent to CNN.

And another monster storm barreling towards America's northeast. We are not talking inches of snow. We are talking feet upon feet.

And Iran releases what it says is decoded footage from a U.S. spy drone. Our American secrets now fully exposed. Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening to all of you. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, we have breaking news, a major development in the massive manhunt underway for a trained killer who is vowing revenge on the Los Angeles Police Department.

We are just learning that a burned out truck near Big Bear Lake, which is about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, belongs to Christopher Jordan Dorner. Dorner is the 33-year-old former LAPD officer who has threatened, quote/unquote, "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" on his former colleagues.

He's also a former navy reserve lieutenant and he is accused of firing on four officers today, one of them is dead. Dorner is also wanted in connection with a double homicide Sunday in Irvine.

Where the daughter of a retired Los Angeles Police Department captain, Monica Quan, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, were killed in the parking lot of their apartment.

Dorner is suspected of being on the run since Sunday, and police warn he is armed and dangerous. And according to a chilling manifesto he posted online, Dorner's twisted shooting spree targeted officers and their families and it isn't over yet.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is urging his city to remain alert as the manhunt continues tonight. Our Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT in Corona, California, the scene of the first shoot this morning.

Kyung, what more can you tell us first about this breaking news we have that they've been able to identify this burnt vehicle as Dorner's vehicle? KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just about 90 minutes ago, we did get a report that a car was on fire, that police had found this burned out shell of a vehicle, and there were a lot of questions as to whether or not that's his car. Well, they are now confirming it is, indeed, Chris Dorner's car.

Here's what the sheriff's department told reporter just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOHN MCMAHON: We have currently a search going on with guys going door to door, as well as our specialized enforcement detail, up in the area where the truck was located.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: Now, that truck was found on a Forestry Road, near Big Bear Lake, as you mentioned, Erin, about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. What's happening right now is that fatigue-clad officers are combing through that mountainous region, hoping that they catch up with this ex-police officer -- Erin.

BURNETT: And Kyung, as you said, they're hoping and trying to track down that lead as well as others. There's not much daylight left on the west coast, you tell me, another hour, hour and a half. This is crunch time, right?

LAH: Yes, you are absolutely right about that. About 90 minutes of daylight left and just so give you an idea of what the officers are facing right now. Big Bear Lake is a mountainous area. It's a resort area. It is very dense, a lot of forestry in that area.

There are resorts in that area, as well. So you have people mixed with dense areas. It is very difficult to find somebody. It is, in effect, a perfect hideout, but officers, they have got to find him, if they're going to try to find him tonight.

Because after the sun sets, you're talking about tough terrain that could be very dangerous for the police and something we should point out, Erin, there is a storm coming in. It's expected to snow in that area.

BURNETT: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you very much. We're going to be with Kyung again later in the hour. In addition to posting his manifesto online, which we're going to be talking a lot about, it's long and detailed and there are a lot of important things in it.

Christopher Dorner also reached out directly to CNN. He mailed a parcel to Anderson Cooper's office here at CNN in New York. Anderson is with me now. So, Anderson, I know you get a lot of mail and a lot of strange mail, so it's not something you would have noticed or seen. What was in it?

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC 360): It was addressed to me. It got here February 1st, I was just made aware of it earlier today, as well as was CNN management. It was a parcel and in the parcel was probably most notable, a coin. The kind of ceremonial coin that's often handed out in the military.

And this one is the former chief of police of the LAPD, Will Bratton's coin. And I talked to Chief Bratton. He says it's likely the suspect got this coin at a ceremony where he gives out these coins to people who are going to be serving overseas. Notable about this coin, there are three bullet holes shot through the center.

There's also what looks like the nick of a bullet on the top rim of it. So this was included in the partial. There was also a post-it note, saying, I never lied. There was a DVD and around that coin, there was duct tape. And written on the duct tape was a message for Will Bratton, and also an abbreviation, which we believe is meaning, imagine a more open America, IMOA.

BURNETT: And I know Bratton didn't remember Dorner, but apparently according to when Dorner says he was fired, he would have been the police chief who fired him.

COOPER: He would have been the police of chief and he did meet him, there's a photograph of him together, but he doesn't recall it. He oversaw thousands of people on the police force.

BURNETT: I know it has to be difficult for you.

COOPER: It's strange.

BURNETT: It's not like you would have seen it. There's no reason you would have seen it, but it takes on more significance.

COOPER: Yes, you know, honestly, you get -- I mean, I get death threats and crazy e-mail and crazy letters and parcels all the time. I'm sure you do as well. So it comes with the territory. But it's very strange to know that this, you know, this came to our office, and frankly, I didn't even know about it until today.

BURNETT: Well, Anderson Cooper, thank you very much. Anderson is going to have a lot more. As he just mentioned, he spoke with former LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, and it was a coin from Bratton, as Anderson just said, that was sent in the parcel.

Bratton was the police chief in Los Angeles from 2002 to 2009. And from the manifesto in which Dorner was incredibly specific about dates, he was with the department from 2005 until that time. Listen to Chief Bratton as he explains how Dorner got the coin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BRATTON, FORMER LAPD CHIEF: Chances are he would have received it from me, the photograph that's been displayed very widely today, of me shaking his hand in front of a pair of flags, probably would have been the custom I have of, when somebody was activated into the military, heading overseas, I would bring them up to the office.

Present them with one of these coins, as a token of respect and good luck, and also have their family come up to meet our military liaison officer, who would then basically work with the family during the period of time when the officer was gone.

So looking at this coin, that is a, what is called a challenge coin, it's my personal coin that I give out to people and the coin's usually about an inch and a half, 2 inches in width. So looks like he probably shot that through with like a .22.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I want to bring in Jim Clemente now. He spent 22 years in the FBI, 12 of them as a criminal profiler, and he is OUTFRONT.

All right, you've read the manifesto, and I want to ask you some questions about that. But first, Jim, this package that came to CNN. You hear Bill Bratton talking about the coin. Very chilly, that it looks like it's been shot through by a .22. What do you make of that package?

JIM CLEMENTE, ADVISER, "CRIMINAL MINDS": I think it's a message, obviously. It's a coin that came from the chief, and I think it's a message directly to him, but also to law enforcement because most law enforcement officers carry those challenge coins.

They're part and parcel of what it means to be a police officer, sort of the brotherhood and I think it's very symbolic that he's blowing holes in that. It's a threat. Obviously, this kind of personality is very interested in sort of making a big bang for his buck. And I think it was one more way that he thought he'd get more attention for his plight.

BURNETT: And I want to talk about the manifesto, which you've read. We've all read and in it, there were a couple of things that stood out to you. I want to pull those out. One is where he talks about Rodney King, what he talks about his hatred and anger and resentment at the LAPD.

He says, I'll quote him, "Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy, but must partake and compete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name. The department has not changed since the rampart and the Rodney King days. It has gotten worse."

Then he continues to specifically threaten people. He says, "I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own. I'm going to terminate yours." And by the way, there were a whole bunch of names in there I want to know our viewers to know, which we are going to share, because these people's lives are at risk. But what do those two lines say to you about Dorner?

CLEMENTE: Well, the first thing about it is that he's trying to become part of something much bigger than him. He knows that his incident is a very small thing in terms of the rest of the world. So he wants to attach himself to the bigger issues that have faced the LAPD in the past, things that have already been resolved. He wants to sort of stir those up, so he can get some more detractors against the LAPD on his side. So it's part of his personality. He feels so small. He feels he has to attach himself to something bigger.

The second part, the calls to the family, that's clearly sadistic. What he's trying to do is make somebody suffer even more than he already has. He loves that. That's part of what gets him off as an offender and clearly, what he's interested in, the reason why he's doing this, is to cause as much pain and suffering as possible.

BURNETT: OK, there are several names in that sentence. There are a lot of other people to whom he refers. He goes through his grievances. This person was too violent, and I turned them in, and this person said that my complaint had no matter.

CLEMENTE: It's always somebody else's fault.

BURNETT: All these names are in there. All these people, I mean, is this his list? Is this his kill list?

CLEMENTE: Well, it may be. But also, by warning people, he also reduces the chances that he will ever get to these people.

BURNETT: Right.

CLEMENTE: So what he wants to do is cause anxiety in those people, a much greater number of people than he could actually get to. But what he's doing is, by telegraphing it, he's showing what's really most important to him, which is the notoriety and the fear in other people.

BURNETT: Yes. All right, we're going to have a lot more in this manifesto because there's a lot more I want to share with our viewers about what was in here. Thank you very much, Jim.

And more to come of our breaking coverage of the manhunt for the suspected killer, he posted an 11,000 manifesto and we will have some of the most important entries for you.

Plus, new information about the American drone seized by Iran. The Iranians say they have finally cracked the American code. This is one of the most sophisticated drones ever made by this country.

And we're currently tracking a monster blizzard headed towards the northeast. We're going to tell you who is going to get many feet of snow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: More on our top story tonight. The manhunt continuing after an ex-Los Angeles cop threatens revenge on his former colleagues. One police officer and two civilians are dead as police continue their massive search for 33-year-old Christopher Jordan Dorner. Dorner is also a former Navy lieutenant. He threatened to target law enforcement officers in retaliation for being fired more than four years ago from the LAPD. OUTFRONT tonight, Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan, a former FBI agent and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Good to talk to you, Chairman. Let me just start, we just had Jim Clemente on, who worked for the FBI as a profiler. He says he has a friend whose son is on a field trip up to Bear Mountain, where they believe, where the car was just found, Dorner's car was just found and they confirmed it was his a few moments ago.

That about 100 FBI agents surrounded these kids, the kids were terrified, they said, you have to leave. They weren't really sure what was going on. I'm trying to get a sense from you of how significant this search effort is right now. I mean, obviously, they're throwing out a number. I don't know whether it really was 100, but it seems significant.

REPRESENTATIVE MIKE ROGERS, FORMER FBI AGENT: Yes, any time that you would launch, both the FBI, and I'm sure that the LAPD is involved as well. It just shows that it's serious and what's concerning about the area is that it's remote.

So it's very, very difficult to move around safely, number one, and number two, easy for an individual to hide and lay in wait for unsuspecting FBI agents or officers. This is really dangerous work for them, to make sure they're safe while they're trying to apprehend this individual, while they're in some pretty tough strain.

BURNETT: And as our Kyung Lah, who is nearby in Corona, California, reported, it's getting dark. The "L.A. Times" is reporting right now that authorities in Big Bear have spotted fresh tracks that are believed to be those of Dorner. This is a fire department official telling the "Los Angeles Times." Do they really only have until dark to find him now, and then wait until the morning, or can this be done at night?

ROGERS Well, you can do some work at night. It's dangerous. But we have technology today that would allow them to isolate areas and even track the officer and even in real-time, at night. Now, I will tell you, it's more dangerous at night, because that's not what they're trained for in an open environment like this.

They're normally trained to urban environments, but it can happen. They can do it. They can get on his trail. And they can apprehend him at night.

BURNETT: Chairman, I'm curious. This is so difficult because people can have traumatic experiences in their life, bad experiences at work, and they don't turn out like this, and this kind of a horrific situation.

But in the manifesto, Dorner wrote, "self-preservation is no longer important to me. I do not fear death, as I died long ago on January 2nd, 2009." That was the day he says he was fired from the LAPD. Now, we have no indication that Dorner was on the radar of the FBI. Should someone like him have been, or is it just too much to ask?

ROGERS: You just don't know. If he had these type of supposed while he was a police officer, certainly the LAPD was aware of that. We don't know all the circumstances of why he was fired, but I can imagine if you see his actions today, that some of those attitudes, some of those actions may have played in to why he was terminated.

So it was probably bigger than the event that was listed on the termination sheet and really, where it comes to getting on the radar screen is what happens afterwards. That was the LAPD's responsibility. They removed him from service.

What happened between 2009 and today? And were there times when we could have intervened with somebody that clearly is having some mental health issues.

BURNETT: Absolutely. And now, there's been so much talk and today, obviously, with the hearings on Capitol Hill, with Leon Panetta, with Martin Dempsey, and John Brennan, you were talking a lot about drones.

There's been a lot of talk about the Americans using drones against people linked to al Qaeda, American citizens. You look at a case like this, and Dorner, is this a case where you would think sometime soon that we would use drones against American citizens, a case like this, where he's trying to kill people?

ROGERS: No, I don't think so. I don't think we'll ever get there and I think it's very, very important to understand that the legal justification for using an air strike against an enemy combatant, no matter what their citizenship is, is longstanding in this country.

And World War II is the best example, where somebody would join forces with the enemy to fight the United States. They no longer have the benefit of the U.S. citizenship to protect them when they're an enemy combatant on foreign land, fighting the battle of the United States.

So he was belligerent. In the Al Awlaki case, he's a belligerent to the United States. That's very different than having a United States citizen in the United States. They have the protections of the constitution here.

BURNETT: All right, I want to ask you today, a big topic of conversation in Washington, in the hearings you were in, and on the internet, this was, everyone was talking about the video that Iran released.

That it says is decoded footage from an American spy drone that it claims to have downed more than a year ago. They broadcast this video in Iran, they put it on YouTube. John Reid is the national security reporter for foreign policy. He says he analyzed the video. He thinks it could be legitimate. Do you think this is legitimate footage, because, obviously, this comes -- this is related to one of the most sophisticated piece of fighting technology America has?

ROGERS: Yes, I always take it with a grain of salt. We have to make sure we're going to take a look at it. We'll have our experts analyze it from stem to stern. You know, Iran has overinflated many things. They had missiles they said would go 1,200 kilometers. They went 800 kilometers.

They had missile tests they said were successful that we know were not successful. So I'm a little bit skeptical that what they claim is true. Could it be true, clearly? I think we have some more forensic work to do to absolutely verify, in fact, if this is footage from what they claim is the downed drone.

BURNETT: And quickly, before we go, Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs was testifying today about what happened in Benghazi. You've defended the use of drones and kill lists at various times. General Dempsey said today that there is no suspect linked to the attack in Benghazi in which Americans were killed that is on a target list. No one's on a kill list. Should that be the case?

ROGERS: Well, what's concerning about this is we're talking -- this happened last September. We're already here. It was a successful terrorist attack that killed four Americans and the fact that we're still trying to determine whether we should be nice to these guys or not, or if we even know who they are, is really frustrating.

If you're going to send a message, a very clear message that we will not tolerate this, so that we can protect all the rest of Americans who are serving in posts all around the world, you need to be swift and you need to be certain. And I just don't see that.

And I was a little bit worried by Mr. Dempsey's comments or General Dempsey's comments today. It didn't seem that sense of urgency to try to bring these folks to justice who we know killed these four Americans.

BURNETT: All right, thank you very much, sir. We appreciate your time, as always, Chairman Rogers.

And ahead, more on our top story, the search for Christopher Dorner. Tonight, more on his manifesto and the connection to the military, still to come. And the latest information about the monster blizzard, which is blanketing the American northeast in just a few hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Monster blizzard. There are warnings tonight for a storm of historic proportions. It is headed straight for the north east of the United States. Warnings right now stretch from New Jersey all the way up to Maine. Our Chad Myers is OUTFRONT. Chad, just getting an alert that already, before there's been a drop of snow, almost 3,000 flights have been canceled, how bad is this storm going to be?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, you can't have planes parked on tarmac with 20 inches or 30 inches of snow on the wings. Planes, companies just don't want that to happen. They don't want them stranded at airports. So this is going to be a big storm.

We talked about it yesterday, how there's a storm, this is the cold part of the storm, and then there's a warm part of the storm down here. They will merge somewhere over Massachusetts. And there are still differing opinions on these computer models. Will it truly merge perfectly? Will it be kind of a swing and a miss?

Well, I have both of the computer models lined up for you here. One that's the miss and one that's clearly the hit and we'll go from best-case scenario to worst-case scenario.

What we have today, from New York City, and all to have the boroughs, from New York City and also from Bergren County into parts of New Jersey, all the way up to Portland, all under blizzard warnings right now.

There are 23 million people that live in that blizzard warning right now, 23 million affected by this blizzard and so here's the best-case scenario for the at least amount of snow. A computer model that doesn't believe the merger is going to happen.

So 9.7 in Albany, 7.5 in New York City, 13 in Portland, only 12 in Boston. You can only hope that that would happen. This is the miss. This is if it's the best possible scenario. This, now, is the other side of the coin.

The storm that does combine, the moisture does get in there, and you get the cold and the warm to mix, 34 in Boston, 26 in Providence, 14.3 in New York. Which one do you believe? Well, it's still going to probably come down a little bit farther and farther, as these models get closer and closer to when the snow starts, compared to when the snow ends.

We talked about that yesterday, how it was just a crazy storm yesterday, where it could be like 1 to 20 inch of snow. And Erin, it still looks kind of crazy at this point in time because this is Greenwich. Here's Westchester, all the way down here.

This is 20 plus over here. Yet if you just go 30 or 40 miles south into the city here, that's only 2 to 4 inches. So that's how it can change, just in a few miles from 20 or 34 inches to only 2 to 4. A little bit of the left, a little bit of right, this could be a miss, but right now, I don't see it missing too many big cities.

BURNETT: Chad, thank you very much. I know it will be tough for a lot of people with a lot of power outages, but there is something to be said for finally getting a winter snowstorm in the part of the country where we're supposed to get them. Still to come, we continue our coverage of the massive manhunt for the suspected cop killer. What we have learned from the 11,000- word manifesto he posted on Facebook and if he gets through tonight without being caught, how will he survive in the cold?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: All right. Breaking news: right now, there is a massive manhunt for a suspected cop killer. Right now, investigators are blanketing the Big Bear area. It's about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, a resort community, a ski area. There's reports that a storm could be coming in there.

And police have just confirmed that a burned Nissan pickup truck found in the area belongs to the suspect, Christopher Dorner. Now, Dorner is a former officer wanted in the killing of a couple, a newly engaged couple, and the ambushing of four officers early this morning. One of those officers was killed.

It also put the city of Los Angeles on high alert, because not only is Dorner a former officer with the LAPD. He is also a former reserve lieutenant in the Navy. Officers are carrying semi-automatic weapons, because they believe Dorner will strike again.

The question is, are they able to close in on him tonight? There are reports that there could be fresh tracks in the Big Bear area, which could be his.

Here's Kyung Lah with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): War, that's what Christopher Dorner says he would wage against the LAPD.

SERGIO DIAZ, RIVERSIDE POLICE CHIEF: He's told us what he intends to do, and so far, he's done it.

LAH: Dorner allegedly laid out his intentions in a manifesto, shortly after police say he murdered Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence on Sunday. Quan, the daughter of a retired LAPD captain, the officer who represented Christopher Dorner in front of the police board that eventually fired him.

Dorner writes, "I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own. I'm terminating yours."

"Self-preservation is no longer important to me. I do not fear death as I died long ago on January 2nd, 2009." A date just a few months after Dorner was fired as a police officer.

The LAPD fanned out, launching 40 protection details throughout southern California.

CHIEF CHARLIE BECK, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT.: This is a vendetta against all of southern California law enforcement. LAH: Three days later, Wednesday, in San Diego, the LAPD says Dorner attempted to hijack a boat, an attempt that failed.

Then, early this morning, an eyewitness saw Dorner's vehicle an hour southeast of Los Angeles. Police already assigned on protective detail for people mentioned in the manifesto engaged Dorner.

SGT. RUDY LOPEZ, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT.: That suspect gets off the freeway at Magnolia and our officers are in proximity, as soon as they turn that -- the right turn, the suspect's already out of the vehicle, engaging them with gunfire.

LAH: One officer grazed in the head, unable to capture him. A short time later, another shooting in nearby Riverside. Two unsuspecting riverside police officers fired upon, in what police call a cowardly ambush. One seriously hurt, the other killed.

BECK: The city mourns the deaths of Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence, and our brave Riverside police officer. I also feel great sadness for the injuries suffered by my officer, the second Riverside officer, and the two uninvolved citizens in Torrance.

LAH: Torrance was the location of yet another shooting this morning, but not by Dorner. The people inside this blue truck, similar in description to Dorner's vehicle, were delivering morning newspapers. Officers opened fire, injuring the two inside, a sad case of mistaken identity.

A city reacting to the fear of a trained, enraged killer on the loose, as he writes in his manifesto, "I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform, whether on or off-duty. ISR -- referring to his law enforcement training -- is my strength and your weakness. You will now live the life of the prey."

BECK: I would tell him to turn himself in. You know? This has gone far enough. You know, nobody else needs to die.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And, Kyung, I know as you have reported, there are FBI agents, law enforcement officials swarming the Big Bear area, where they've confirmed Dorner's pickup was burning and also "Los Angeles Times" has reported they believe they have found fresh tracks.

How close are they?

LAH: What they're looking at right now is closing in on them. We're not hearing whether or not police believe that he's actually still in the area, even though there are the reports of that -- of the tracks, or whether he got into another vehicle and left. They are operating right now, though, from what we can observe, that he is in that area. They're combing through Big Bear Lake. There are fatigue- clad officers combing through this mountainous area. They are facing a sinking sun. They want to try to catch him.

If he is, indeed, in that area, before the sun sets, because the sun goes away, Erin, and it is dangerous area for police.

BURNETT: And, Kyung, as you were just speaking, our viewers -- we'll bring this back up. We're looking at a live picture here in Big Bear of the truck, which officials have confirmed to Kyung is the truck -- is Dorner's truck. It was burning, a burning pickup truck that they have now confirmed is his.

Of course, the belief is, Kyung, they all believe that he is there. But are they prepared, if he returns to Los Angeles, to heavily populated areas?

LAH: What I can tell you is every police officer, and granted, these are at the shooting scenes that we've been at, but those police officers have their rifles out. The officers here are certainly on alert, and they are very concerned, not just for, you know, their own well-being, but for all the officers who are working the entire southern California area right now, because they do feel like they have a target on their backs.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kyung Lah.

And as Kyung just mentioned, Christopher Dorner's twisted plan is detailed in a rambling and twisted 11,000-word manifesto. It's very strange reading, but it includes his reasoning behind the murders, as well as messages to celebrities.

I mean, there's a lot of people in here. Jerry Seinfeld, Hillary Clinton, and Chris Christie are all mentioned. He also addressed a number of people here at CNN, including our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, to whom he writes, "Hopefully Toobin is nominated for the Supreme Court."

Jeffrey Toobin joins me along -- OUTFRONT, along with Candace Delong, a former FBI profiler and host of "Facing Evil" on Investigation Discovery. Also on the telephone is John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted."

I want to begin with you, though, John, just because as Kyung said, right now police are frantic, right, and FBI officials. They are trying to beat the sinking sun. "L.A. Times" is reporting there are fresh tracks on Big Bear, perhaps near where that pickup truck is burning.

How -- you have tracked so many people like this -- how can Dorner survive the night?

JOHN WALSH, HOST, AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (via telephone): Well, he's trained for this. He's not only America's most wanted, he's America's most armed and dangerous. And he's trained to be a survivalist.

That remote area up there in the dark will be his ally. He can set up shop up there and he'll be very hard to catch in the dark. And if he has the weapons he says he has, if he has a Barrett .50-caliber rifle, he'll be able to shoot people from -- or whoever he wants to shoot, from as far as a mile. So, he is extremely dangerous. He may be looking for shelter up there. There's probably lots of cabins and vacation homes that will be empty. He can get out of the cold and for him, it's not that cold. He'll be able to hunker down.

And he's crossed the line. He's not just looking for cops. He's not just trying to kill and get even with LAPD. He's got the media on his side. Everybody's covering him, which he loves.

But he crossed the line by killing that captain's daughter and her fiance. So he doesn't care anymore. Collateral damage, it doesn't matter to him. He's really a dangerous fugitive.

BURNETT: Yes, and, of course, John is referring to the awful murders on Sunday of a retired LAPD official's daughter and her newly engaged fiance -- an absolutely horrible part of this story.

Candace, in the manifesto, and I want to read some parts o of this, because this is where Dorner details the reasoning for which he is doing this. He says, "I've exhausted all available means in obtaining my name back. I have attempted all legal court efforts with appeals at the Superior Courts and California Appellate courts. This is my last resort. The LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now led to deadly consequences."

He is referring, of course, to his firing from the LAPD.

What do you make of this?

CANDACE DELONG, FORMER FBI PROFILER: Well, it looks to me like he -- this is a man at the end of his rope, and he has decided to seek revenge on those that he feels -- that he believes have dealt him a bad card, or he perceives they have. In either case, he's deadly serious. And he's proven that.

BURNETT: Jeffrey, what is your reaction when you are reading through this manifesto today? And you see your name?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's bizarre, of course. But you read the whole thing, and you se he is this combination of completely lucid and completely insane. The -- both of them, those attributes are in that letter.

Also, you know, we've spent so much time thinking, since Newtown, since Aurora, since Tucson, about what kind of person does this? And we see, they're so different from each other. I mean, we thought there was sort of this young, you know, young white male-type, but here, an older African-American.

There's a story in "The New Yorker" about the biology professor, the woman, who shot up this school, the University in Alabama. They all seem so different, which seems to make it so difficult to identify in advance who might do something like this.

BURNETT: John, do you agree with that? Almost impossible to identify in advance who's capable of this horror? WALSH: Well, look how wrong every profiler and everybody was with the Beltway sniper, way back.

BURNETT: Right.

WALSH: You know, a white male between 25 and 40. And it was a black man, an older black guy, again with a grudge against the government.

But it is very hard to predict. And this guy's smart. He's very smart. And he's very well-trained.

And we're working closely with LAPD. We put him on the top of the AMW Web site, because we've got 40 guys off of that Web site. And if he's giving false clues and leaving his ID here, and hoping people will fall for a fall trail, we have Spanish-speaking operators and the hotline that goes into Mexico.

So if he backtracks and makes it into Mexico, I'm asking people, and so is LAPD, if you don't want to call the cops, and lots of people don't want to work with the cops, go to our Web site. You can remain anonymous, call 1-800-CRIMETV. We never trace or tap the calls. That's how we've caught 1,200 guys.

BURNETT: Yes.

WALSH: So if he's making his way to Mexico, who will catch this guy? Who will save lives? I'm predicting it will be the public.

BURNETT: Right.

WALSH: Somebody has to call and say, I'm either -- this guy's asked for help or we've seen him or we now have the courage. If you don't want to call the cops and you're afraid, then go to our hotline, go to our Web site.

BURNETT: All right. Absolutely.

And now, let me just, Jeffrey, ask you something. There were six pages of messages to other public figures, after he detailed, you know, very specifically the wrongs that he felt he endured at the LAPD and growing up and in school.

But he said some things, I think, to your point, about being simultaneously rational and lucid and crazy -- "Senator Feinstein, you are doing the right thing in leading the reinstitution of a national AWB," of course, an assault weapons ban.

He talks about Ellen DeGeneres.

And then he talks about Governor Christie: "What can I say, you're the only person I would like to see in the White House in 2016 other than Hillary. Do one things for your wife, kids, and supporters, start walking at night and eat a little less. Not a lot less, just a little." He's currently in touch with current affairs. He actually goes on and we'll throw this up about the LBGT community and says, "Look, you have the right to say what you want. So does the other side. Don't pick on Chick-fil-A. Free speech makes America great."

TOOBIN: The thing about it, though, is there's this incredible narcissism. There's this self-obsession that he is now in a position to talk about politics, to talk about celebrities. That, I mean, is obviously deranged in the context in which we se it.

And, you read about it, I mean, my reaction was, this is a guy who wants attention on himself. And you have to wonder if by covering him so much, we are almost indulging it.

BURNETT: Well, it's a fair point.

TOOBIN: But how can you not cover a story of this magnitude? It's a hard problem.

BURNETT: And that is the difficulty we always face. And we want people to be aware.

Candace, what do you think about the intelligence level of this man? At one point, he used the word "misinterest," and I maybe even saying it wrong, to describe a man-hater when he was complaining about a woman he used to work with at the LAPD.

DELONG: It appears to me from his writings that he's intelligent, very intelligent. We shouldn't mistake the fact that sometimes he rambles on and on and 11,000 words, there's certainly some rambling in there. We shouldn't mistake that with him not being intelligent.

Whatever it is, something -- I mean, this man has a remarkable past. I mean, he's done well. He reached a certain level in the Navy reserves. He was accepted by the LAPD. Some thing happened that resulted in a spiraling down.

And now, he's -- he's just not going to do anymore. He's not going to put up with anymore. He's forcing the rest of us to listen to him and he's going to take vengeance on his enemies.

BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you very much, Candace, John, Jeffrey.

And as Candace said, an accomplished man. It's not just his role in the LAPD. As we continue our breaking coverage of the massive manhunt, we're going to talk about the suspected cop killer's link to the United States military, to the Navy, and why that is so important in the search tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: And now the military link of the man on the run in Los Angeles. The massive manhunt for alleged cop killer Christopher Jordan Dorner continues as the sun sets in Los Angeles. He's a former police officer with the LAPD and a Navy reserve officer. Today, he shot three LAPD officers, killing one. Yesterday, he was named a suspect in the killings of the daughter of a retired LAPD officer and her fiance.

Tonight, we are learning more about Dorner's military service and what role this plays in what he's doing right now.

Chris Lawrence joins us from the Pentagon with that.

So, Chris, what do you know right now about his military background?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, he's an officer. Navy lieutenant in the naval reserve, who was just honorably discharged, just a couple weeks ago. You know, in his manifesto, he wrote, "The U.S. Navy didn't instill the values of honor, courage, and commitment in me, but I thank them for sort of reemphasizing it in me."

Basically, he served in what was called a Riverine Unit. It's a small water. They work close to shore, ports, things like that, doing security. In fact, he deployed overseas to do security on an oil platform. So, sort of different than what we think of as traditional navy.

And right now, NCIS, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is sharing a lot of that information with the local authorities there in L.A.

BURNETT: And, Chris, I'm curious, because back to this manifesto, this 11,000-word manifesto that he wrote. He wrote about his marksmanship and his quote was, "I have always been the top shot, highest score, an expert in rifle qualifications in every unit I have been in. I will utilize every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance, and survival training I have been given."

Is he really the marksman, though, that he claims to be?

LAWRENCE: Well, he's no sniper, but he is pretty good. And some of the Navy sources we speak with say he can probably exhibit some sort of accuracy up to a couple hundred yards.

Look, there are three classifications for marksmanship -- marksman, sharp shooter and expert. He qualifies as marksman with a rifle, but expert with a .9 millimeter pistol. So, basically, that's the highest award that you can receive in a Navy for weapons qualifications.

It also says that he probably received some training in weak-side shooting. How that could come into play is a lot of people struggle when they have to switch from say shooting with their right hand to the left. He's received some training in which if he was, say, in a concealed position, if you can shoot with your weak hand, you don't necessarily have to come out from that position as much. You can be less of a target. You don't have to show as much of your body.

So whether that skill comes into play at all, we don't know, but it is something he has been trained on.

BURNETT: Certainly something that's going to be important tonight as the FBI continues to search for him at the Big Bear Resort in California, in the dark.

I want to bring in former Navy SEAL and sniper Cade Courtley. He spent nine years in the Navy in Afghanistan and Iraq. He knows what law enforcement is up against in finding Christopher Jordan Dorner and the man they will find.

I mean, Cade, you were a sniper, and that means you can kill people over incredible distances. You just heard our Chris Lawrence reporting that Dorner had achieved marksman on the rifle and expert with a .9 millimeter, the highest rank possible in the Navy for the 9 millimeter.

How dangerous does this make him? How good is he?

CADE COURTLEY, FORMER NAVY SEAL/SNIPER: Well, Erin, those are baselines, basically. Everybody that's in the United States Navy has a minimum amount of weapons training and they're able to qualify according to those standards. To give you an example, those would be far below a minimum standard for a Navy SEAL.

So, although it is some training, it is far below -- I mean, far below what we have to go through just to try to qualify to start sniper school.

BURNETT: All right. So it sounds like what you're saying is yes, armed and dangerous, but certainly not at least what he's cracked himself up to be.

COURTLEY: Yes, absolutely. And nothing against people who are in reserve units. They do a good job, but their level of training also is far, far below what somebody who is active duty in an active duty unit, whether it'd be a SEAL team or someone stationed on a submarine.

BURNETT: Let me ask you something. In the manifesto, Cade, there were a lot of people listed. People he was talking about randomly and also people he classified as friends as well as people he classified that he wanted to kill. One of the people he classified as a friend he wanted to thank was a man called Sergeant Major Kenneth Rocquemore.

He said, "Thank you for the intense instruction and mentorship and time spent forging me into a never quit officer. You were challenging as a D.I. You made sure the vicious and intense personality I possess was discovered."

Now, we reached out to the sergeant major. He has no recollection of Christopher Dorner at all. But he talked about his vicious and intense personality to terrorize and kill.

How dangerous do you think he is, just in terms of -- yes, he has people he wants to kill, but just killing anybody that he comes across?

COURTLEY: Well, to be honest with you, I think we potentially have the best case scenario, if he's on foot in Bear Mountain. At SEAL Team 1, we did a ton of training up there. It's rugged. It gets cold at night. It's high altitude.

And if you got a 275-pound man on foot, he's not going to make it very long. That mountain will grind him apart. And that is also, you know, it's a remote area, too.

I would rather have him up there trying to climb some of those killer hills that in the middle of an urban area, heavy people, like maybe a shopping mall or something like that.

I love the idea that he's remote.

BURNETT: Right.

COURTLEY: And just one other thing about, you talked about the drones. This would be a perfect, perfect example of usefulness of a drone to locate this guy in that kind of remote area.

BURNETT: Wow.

All right. And just a quit final, final thought on that. Do you think he will make it through the night? Will the FBI be able to find him tonight or do you think this could go longer than that, given that you know the trail --

COURTLEY: If he's on foot -- yes, if he's on foot, that's going to grind him down. He won't make it very far. The best case scenario is he'll find a home and hopefully he'll chew on the barrel of the gun and end this thing because he's not going to make it very far on foot, not there.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Cade. We appreciate your time.

And still to come, the top musical artists in the world receive a stern warning. We'll tell you about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: The Grammy Awards are just a few days away, and as you can imagine, the entertainment world is totally abuzz with excitement. But no one is actually talking about the music. They're not excited about that. They're talking about, well, buttocks and other private parts of celebrities.

Yes, so the past two years, the people at the Grammy Awards have been wearing less and less clothing. Hemlines have gone up, necklines have gone down. And, well, you know, there's Lady Gaga.

As a result, CBS, the network airing the awards, has -- according to Deadline.com -- sent out a decent wardrobe advisory to the nominees. The dress code reads in part, "Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic." Really? "Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breast is also problematic."

I'm not making this up, people. I'm not making this up. They had to send that out to these people. What is wrong with people? Thong-type costumes are problematic. Thank you for breaking news, it's sad that some celebrities had to be told that.

But the Grammy Awards are supposed to celebrate music, and recently it does seem like it's more about shock than rock. There certainly is a difference between sexy and sexual.

Thanks so much always for watching.

"ANDERSON COOPER 360" starts right now.