Maybe it's an "urban legend," but I recall hearing that murders of this type were a right of passage for white cops. It's not like they're real soldiers - after all, they're city/county cops. I think the point of it was to demonstrate the stones to be willing to kill - and trust that the "system" would handle the trial. Anyway, since this shit always seems to happen in Cobb's neck of the woods, I'm sure he has something quasi-relevant to say about this pattern. After completing such a task, these officers were to be on a semi-invisible fast track to leadership positions. I am not aware of an empirical analysis of shooters and leaders in LA County and the surrounding areas, but this may be a point for further investigation.