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Christopher Dorner manhunt: Why did Riverside police delete an 'officer murdered' tweet?
Riverside Police Officers salute Michael Crain's coffin at the Riverside National Cemetery. Crain was shot dead by Christopher Dorner on February 7th, 2013.
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Mae Ryan/KPCC
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A Riverside Police Officer hands a folded American flag to Michael Crain's mother while Crain's wife Regina and daughter Kaitlyn look on.
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Mae Ryan/KPCC
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Michael Crain's mother mourns the loss of her son saying "I just have to say goodbye to him one last time."
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Mae Ryan/KPCC
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Michael Crain's wife Regina walks into her husband's funeral at Grove Community Church in Riverside, Calif. with her four-year-old daughter Kaitlyn and her 11-year-old stepson Ian.
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Mae Ryan/KPCC
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Officer Velazquez prepares for the procession from Acheson and Graham Mortuary to the Grove Community Church for Michael Crain's funeral.
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Mae Ryan/KPCC
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Michael Crain's wife Regina mourns this loss of her husband who was ambushed by Christopher Dorner in Riverside.
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Mae Ryan/KPCC
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Planes fly over Michael Crain's funeral services.
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Mae Ryan/KPCC
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A second social media snarl has come to light in the Christopher Dorner case.
Following the Thursday, Feb. 7 shooting of two Riverside Police Department officers in Riverside, allegedly by murder suspect Christopher Dorner, the Riverside Police Department tweeted the following from their @RiversidePolice Twitter account:
“@RiversidePolice: RPD officer murdered. Magnolia and Arlington closed at intersection until further notice.” #Irvine
— Ed Joyce (@EdJoyce) February 7, 2013
Sometime later that same morning, the tweet was removed. The next tweet from the RPD account, which remains on the department’s timeline:
Magnolia Ave and Arlington Ave open again
— City of Riverside Police Department (@RiversidePolice) February 8, 2013
The last tweet reflects the opening of the Riverside intersection where the shooting happened in the early morning hours on that Thursday.
“The first tweet ['RPD officer murdered'] was put out prematurely,” Karen Haverkamp, a supervisor with the Riverside Police Department, told KPCC. “It wasn’t wrong, just put up a little bit early.”
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RELATED: A complete timeline of events surrounding the Christoper Dorner case
The San Bernardino District Attorney's Office was also caught in a social media situation when they asked media to stop tweeting during the climax of the manhunt.
The RPD later issued a news release regarding the shooting of two officers. Crain was killed on Feb.7 during an ambush at a stoplight, according to the Riverside Police Department. At the time, Crain was on patrol with a trainee officer, who was also injured. The second officer shot in the ambush has had surgery for his wounds and is recovering at Riverside Community Hospital.
Approximately 8,000 people attended funeral services for Officer Crain Wednesday, Feb. 13.
A release from the Riverside Police Department said Officer Michael Crain was killed “in the line of duty on Thursday, February 7, 2013, when he and his partner were ambushed while on routine patrol."
Officer Crain was 34 years old and an 11-year veteran of the Riverside Police Department. He served two deployment tours in Kuwait as a rifleman in the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 3rd Battalion 1st Marines. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Social media was a key player in the story, from Dorner's manifesto post and the use of Facebook by the Riverside Police Department, to Twitter.
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