Prayers needed for Police Officer's families (Updated)

[armedandsafe]

Doesn't look good on finding the shooter(s) yet.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577691,00.html

4 Police Officers Shot Dead Near Washington State Air Force Base
Sunday , November 29, 2009

A gunman burst into a coffeehouse Sunday and opened fire on four police officers as they sat working on their laptops, killing the three men and one woman in what an official described as a targeted ambush.

Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said officers were looking for one male suspect who fled the scene and haven't ruled out an accomplice, possibly a getaway driver.

It wasn't clear whether the officers even had time to draw their weapons to return fire, Troyer said.

"This was more of an execution. Walk in with the specific mindset to shoot police officers," Troyer said.

Troyer said the officers -- all from the Lakewood Police Department -- were catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts when they were attacked at 8:15 a.m. Sunday.

Click here for a map of the area.

Troyer said the attack was clearly targeted at the officers, not a robbery gone bad.

"There were marked patrol cars outside and they were all in uniform," Troyer said.

With no known suspects, there was no indication of any connection with the Halloween night shooting of a Seattle police officer. The suspect in that shooting remains hospitalized.

"We won't know if it's a copycat effect or what it was until we get the case solved," Troyer said. "We don't even have a suspect ID right now."

Troyer would not release the names of the victims in Sunday's shooting. He said Lakewood has a small police force and the deaths represent a loss of 10 percent to 15 percent of the department.

Troyer estimates a couple hundred officers from the Washington State Patrol and multiple surrounding police agencies in the area are at the scene, with some coming on their own time.

"We have no motive at all," Troyer said. "I don't think when we find out what it is, it will be anything that makes any sense or be worth it."

Two employees and a few other customers were in the shop during the attack. All are being interviewed by the Pierce County Sheriff's investigators.

"Some are in shock. They are very upset," Troyer said. "They are the ones who are going to put together for us how this happened."

The Forza Coffee Shop, part of a popular local chain, is on a side street near McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, about 35 miles south of Seattle. The shop is in a small retail center alongside two restaurants, a cigar store and a nail salon.

Brad Carpenter, founder and owner of Forza Coffee, said his staff was OK and being interviewed by police, and that his main concern was with the families of the police officers.

"I'm a retired police officer, so this really hits close to home for me," said Carpenter, of nearby Gig Harbor.

Troyer said the Lakewood officers were two blocks outside their jurisdiction, and the coffee shop was a popular place for officers from surrounding jurisdictions to meet and share information.

Streets around the coffee shop were blocked off late Sunday morning, and a police helicopter hovered over a large crowd of investigators. TV video showed police taking possession of a pickup truck parked in a grocery store in Parkland.

"We are looking at some people. We are looking at some cars. We are looking at some residences," Troyer said.

Troyer said investigators are checking surveillance video from multiple sources, trying to identify a possible getaway car. He urged people to stay away from scenes to avoid interfering and putting themselves at risk.

Dave Gabrielson, a clerk at Foot Mart about a block away from the coffee shop, told the newspaper all was quiet when he opened the store at 8 a.m. About 30 minutes later, "All of a sudden a million cops were zooming up and down the road," Gabrielson said.

He said he saw officers bring a police dog into a nearby apartment complex.

Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.

Authorities say the man charged with that shooting also firebombed four police vehicles in October as part of a "one-man war" against law enforcement. Christopher Monfort, 41, was arrested after being wounded in a firefight with police days after the Seattle shooting. He remains hospitalized in stable condition, the hospital said Sunday.

The officers killed Sunday were a patrol squad made up of three officers and their sergeant. No threats had been made against them or other officers in the region, sheriff's officials said. Their families have been notified.

"We lost people we care about. We're working to find out who did this and deal with him." Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor told reporters at the scene.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said she was "shocked and horrified" by the killings.

"Our police put their lives on the line every day, and tragedies like this remind us of the risks they continually take to keep our communities safe," she said in a written statement. "My heart goes out to the family, friends and co-workers of these officers, as well as the entire law enforcement community."

At Rollies Tavern near the coffee house, the plasma TVs usually tuned to football had Northwest Cable News on. Three bar patrons live next door to the coffee house.

Jerry Arnold, 45, was in bed when he was awakened by sirens. He's lived there seven years and never seen anything close to Sunday's scene.

"I hope they get them. I can't sleep until they do," he said. "Those guys could be hiding in my backyard."

Pops

[glocknut]

Prayer sent.

Gn

[Bruce FLinch]

Prayers & wishes sent.

[armedandsafe]

Update:

Police Seek Ex-Con in Ambush on Wash. Officers
Sunday , November 29, 2009

A man with an extensive criminal past — including a lengthy prison sentence commuted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nearly a decade ago — was being sought Sunday in a deadly ambush on four police officers who were gunned down inside a coffee shop.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer told reporters that Maurice Clemmons, 37, was believed to have been in the area around the time of the shooting, but declined to say what evidence might link him to the shooting.

Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas, including aggravated robbery and theft, the sheriff's office said. He also recently was arrested and charged in Washington state for assaulting a police officer, and second-degree rape of a child. Using a bail bondsman, he posted $150,000 and was released from jail last week.

Still unclear was why a man entered the coffee shop and gunned down Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; and Officers Ronald Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; and Greg Richards 42.

Click here for a map of the area.

"We have no motive at all," Troyer said. "I don't think when we find out what it is, it will be anything that makes any sense or be worth it."

The four officers were with the 100-member police department of Lakewood, which adjoins the unincorporated area of Parkland, where the shootings took place.

Richards' sister-in-law, Melanie Burwell, called the shooting "senseless."

"He didn't have a mean bone in his body," she said. "If there were more people in the world like Greg, things like this wouldn't happen.

An impromptu memorial of an American flag, flowers and candles decorated the front yard at Renninger's home. His family declined to speak with reporters.

On Sunday night, a motorcade of dozens of police cars and motorcycles with lights flashing escorted the bodies of the four officers to the medical examiner's office.

Troyer said investigators believe two of the officers were killed while sitting in the shop, and a third was shot dead after standing up. The fourth apparently "gave up a good fight."

"We believe there was a struggle, a commotion, a fight ... that he fought the guy all the way out the door," Troyer said. "We hope that he hit him." Investigators were asking area medical providers to report any gunshot wounds.

In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery. He was paroled in 2000 after Huckabee commuted Clemmons' 95-year prison sentence. Huckabee, who was criticized during his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 for granting many clemencies and commutations, cited Clemmons' youth. Clemmons later violated his parole, was returned to prison and released in 2004.

Troyer said the gunman entered the coffee house and walked toward the counter as if to place an order. A barista saw a gun when the man opened his jacket and fled out the back door. The man then turned and opened fire on the officers as they sat working on their laptops

Troyer said the attack was clearly targeted at the officers, not a robbery gone bad.

"This was more of an execution. Walk in with the specific mindset to shoot police officers," he said. "There were marked patrol cars outside and they were all in uniform."

Troyer said the officers were catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts when they were attacked at 8:15 a.m.

Two employees and a few other customers were in the shop during the attack. None were injured. All were interviewed by the Pierce County sheriff's investigators.

There was no indication of any connection with the Halloween night shooting of a Seattle police officer.

Authorities say the man charged with that shooting also firebombed four police vehicles in October as part of a "one-man war" against law enforcement. Christopher Monfort, 41, was arrested after being wounded in a firefight with police days after the Seattle shooting. He remains hospitalized in stable condition, the hospital said Sunday.

The officers killed Sunday were a patrol squad made up of three officers and their sergeant. No threats had been made against them or other officers in the region, sheriff's officials said.

"We won't know if it's a copycat effect or what it was until we get the case solved," Troyer said.

The coffee shop, part of a popular local chain, is on a side street near McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, about 35 miles south of Seattle. The shop is in a small retail center alongside two restaurants, a cigar store and a nail salon.

Investigators were checking surveillance video from multiple sources, trying to identify a possible getaway car, Troyer said.

"We lost people we care about. We're working to find out who did this and deal with him." Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor told reporters at the scene.

Pops

[jacksonco]

This kinda looks like this could have been a professional hit. I hope find and take who ever shot these poor souls alive so that they can get to the bottom of what exactly what the motive was. But more than likely if they find the shooter he will not fair well.

[Marlin T]

So extremely sad,

Prayers sent

[artabr]

Originally Posted by armedandsafe

Update:


Pops

In my opinion Huckabee should serve half of Maurice Clemmons sentence for these executions.
Without Huckabee, 9 kids would still have two parents each, and 4 cops would still be on the street.
This isn't the first time, either. Mike can put a total of at least 6 notches in his exacitive pen.


Art

[Vladimir]

I liked Huck, it's kind of a shame, I think after this his political career is dead. No conservative can be president after releasing a man who went on to kill 4 police officers.

[Lori Mick]

just terrible. I just saw it on the news. Prayers sent

[artabr]

Originally Posted by Vladimir

I liked Huck, it's kind of a shame, I think after this his political career is dead. No conservative can be president after releasing a man who went on to kill 4 police officers.

I liked him alot myself, Vlad. Now, I could never even think about voting for him.
In his statement Huckabee said:
"Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state."

Sorry, Mike, this all falls on your shoulders and was made possible by your signature.

In his statement he lays all of the blame at the feet of the State CJS. Sorry Mike, that ain't gonna cut it.

[Vladimir]

Originally Posted by artabr

Sorry, Mike, this all falls on your shoulders and was made possible by your signature.

In his statement he lays all of the blame at the feet of the State CJS. Sorry Mike, that ain't gonna cut it.

Not entirely, it sounds like he was arrested for parole violation, which should have forced him to serve his full original sentence, but the prosecutors dropped the charges or something.

[Double D]

This story sucks as much as the ft hood story and makes me equally as angry. Only a coward, a low down scum sucking coward could do this dirty deed. I hope he dies a slow and painfull death. I pray for the familys to have some sort of peace thru it all.

[Bobitis]

Thanks Pops.
My brother could easily have been one of them.

He's a father, son, brother, and Uncle.
Much like those that were killed.

There's no doubt in my mind that this POS will be caught. When he is, I would only wish that the punishment fits the crime.

SO many lives have been touched by this. It's not just cops and bad guys.
It's family. A LOT of family.

This hits very close to home for me. VERY close.

I'm glad my brother wasn't there, but my sorrow goes out to the families that have lost their loved one.

I will not discuss my anger here.
MUCH too close to home.

[Hells Toy Master]

Originally Posted by artabr

I liked him alot myself, Vlad. Now, I could never even think about voting for him.
In his statement Huckabee said:
"Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state."

Sorry, Mike, this all falls on your shoulders and was made possible by your signature.

In his statement he lays all of the blame at the feet of the State CJS. Sorry Mike, that ain't gonna cut it.

AGREED!

[Bobitis]

My take on the situation.
Huckabee did little service to the people with his pardon.

What you likely wont' see reported is the fact this guy was arrested for raping a 12 year old earlier this year, IN WASHINGTON! He and a couple relatives assaulted TWO LEOs, while calling racist epithets and death threats to white people as he was subdued. The family members got months in jail, yet Clemmons was allowed to post bail and walk.

I can blame Huckabee. I can also blame our own judicial department. After all, they are the ones with the ultimate/current responsibility for controlling this guy.

Gladly, the LEOs have arrested a few others in the matter, and more will come. It is still unfolding. But if I know the LEOs in our state, this will be an all out war to indict as many as possible. Good riddance to bad trash.

My brother spent his first years protecting the people in Lakewood.

He deserves better, and the community deserves better.

The people need to start holding our judicial system accountable.

We elect these people!

Yes, I blame Huckabee. But in no way does his action negate the responsibility for our own problems.

Huck will live with this the rest of his life, as will those that screwed up here.

Think before you vote.

[wpage]

Heavenly Father watch over our thin blue line.
Please Bless and cover those that do good.
Amen.