The LAPD briefed the public on status of the Dorner case at a press conference held last Wednesday. (Jacqueline Jackson/Neon Tommy)

Christopher Dorner's posed this question at the beginning of his manifesto, before he murdered four people and led cops on the largest manhunt in LAPD history.

Now Dorner's query has taken on an eerie double meaning for his former department, which finds its own name in jeopardy amid allegations of systemic racism brought to light by the Dorner manhunt.

Dorner, who died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound after his violent manhunt ended in a Big Bear cabin last week, claimed in his 6,000 word manifesto that he experienced racial discrimination as an LAPD officer and was subsequently fired for reporting misconduct.

The allegations resonated emphatically in Los Angeles where police corruption haunts recent history.  Only 20 years ago, the city's streets exploded in protest over the acquittal of the LAPD officers accused of assaulting Rodney King.  That same decade the Rampart scandal revealed further police malpractice when rogue officers took problems with local gangs into their own hands.

"Given the history of the LAPD, everyone knows about the racism, violence, brutality, misconduct, especially towards African Americans - no one denies that," said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, local radio host and President of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable. 

"But now you have a black officer naming names and dates in his manifesto with a very clear attention to race," he added.  "Right away that railed suspicion - has it really changed?"

The LAPD's notorious history of corruption has been reinvigorated by the accusations made in Dorner's manifesto.  Now in the wake of the manhunt, supporters and sympathizers for the ex-cop, along with civil right leaders like Hutchinson, demand accountability from police Chief Charlie Beck in reopening Dorner's case.

Dorner's manifesto goes specifically into a case he reported in 2007 of an LAPD officer using excessive force on a suspect in handcuffs. Dorner claimed that the board devalued his report, attempted to label him as a bully and ignored the officer's violent history.

It also alleged incidents of officers using racial slurs in front of Dorner and it ends with a him specifically addressing Chief Beck as being aware of Dorner's innocence.  

"The [Los Angeles Police] department has not changed since the Rampart and Rodney King days," Dorner wrote.  "It has gotten worse" 

Hutchinson has hosted debate around the defense of Dorner since his name took the spotlight on Feb. 7.  He said there is no justification for Dorner's actions, but it did cause him to wonder what might be going on within the department. 

"I thought about how this is the first time someone from inside the department went through the process of detailing these incidents and brought the public into it," Hutchinson said of his first reaction to the manifesto.  "This happened in some way with Rodney King and Rampart, but the twist with Dorner is he's an insider."

On February 11, a day before the manhunt's fiery end in Big Bear where Dorner took his own life, Hutchinson posted on his website an appeal to the murderous vigilante written by officer Wayne K. Guillary - an African American LAPD sergeant. The letter pleaded Dorner to surrender, but also supported the fact that racism still exists within the department.

Guillary, 31, mentioned the department's considerable effort to fight racial discrimination, but argued wrongdoing against black officers continues to be a problem.

"By 1997 I would find out just how deep the racism existed within the darkened corridors of the LAPD…" Guillary wrote.  "I had witnessed and personally experienced within the organization acts of blatant discrimination.  Its affect left its victims losing hope; their faces were streaming with tears of despair and their voices crying out screams of desperation."

Four days later, Hutchinson received eight letters that Guillary wrote starting in 2010.  The letters depict racism as major issue within the police department, introduced by subject lines such as, "Unbearable Double Standards and the Code of Silence," and "The Uneven Playing Field in the LAPD."

Hutchinson published one of the letters on his website upon the request of Guillary--a statement appealing the termination of a fellow officer he claimed was discriminatory.

After Dorner's manifesto went viral, and the motive for his vendetta became publicly known, police Chief Beck made his first attempt to address the strain Dorner's words put on the departments historically attested reputation.  As he spoke to the cameras, Beck made an effort to put suspicion to rest "the only way" he knew how--by offering up Dorner's depositions for further review.

"Now there's a clear starting point to looking into anything that may be out of order," Hutchinson said.  "But the next big question is will there be transparency?"

Hutchinson questioned the speediness in which LAPD would to reopen the investigation to Dorner's termination after Beck's first public statement.  His uncertainty stemming from Beck's reliability to protect the department's image above all else.

But at today's new conference, Beck openly acknowledged the added strain Dorner has put on the department's name.

"I don't for a minute discount the effect Dorner's manifesto has had on the reputation of the Los Angeles Police Department," he said. "I do not think it is justified."

He also maintained it is too soon to comment on the current review of the ex-officer's firing.

An attorney has been reviewing Dorner's reopened case "nonstop for the past three days." It will then be presented to the LAPD Office of the Inspector General, which oversees the department's internal disciplinary process, before being released to the public.  

"Nothing should be considered closed and done," Beck said.  "It's about fairness, and doing the right thing for the right reasons."

The Chief said when the time comes, the findings will be open for public comment so "everyone can see the transparency with which we address this." 

ALSO SEE: LAPD Chief Beck Vows Open Dialogue Over Dorner Case

He didn't provide a timeline for the review, saying it depends on whether the attorney feels the initial investigation was sufficient.  But he assured that the department is not taking Dorner's case lightly.

"It's okay to reopen but give us a fair and open conclusion," Hutchinson said.  "With Dorner dead it would be easy to dismiss him as a monster because there's no justifying what he did.  But that would be a mistake."

Read more of Neon Tommy's Christopher Dorner coverage here.

Reach reporter Lauren Foliart here.