Four Officers Gunned Down in Ambush

[Seshmeister]

Innocent until proven guilty Ford?

Without knowing the details it's kind of crazy that an 18 year old can end up being sentenced to a combined 108 years for robberies?????

It seems to be a US/UK legal thing that thefts against property are often punished more than violence against people. I think that traces back to who makes the laws. If the underclass are cutting each other up and smashing each others heads in that's nowhere near as bad as them stealing something from the rich.

No wonder your jails are full. And then 108 becomes 11?

It's all a bit nuts, as is this guy by the sounds of it...

[FORD]

Well, the next question, obviously, is how a guy with a rap sheet as long as his arm, and documented mental health issues was able to buy a gun.

Since this was the Tacoma area, I wouldn't be surprised if it was another cash under the table, skip the background check that he wouldn't have passed, illegal sale from Bullseye guns, the same place where the recently deceased John Allen Muhammad bought his Buckmaster rifle.

As to how he got 108 years for robbery.... the fact that he was a black man in Arkansas probably had a lot to do with it.

[FORD]

Mayor: Slain Lakewood officers were 'dedicated, selfless'

By KOMO Staff

LAKEWOOD, Wash. - The four officers who were shot and killed at a Lakewood coffee shop Sunday morning were all members of the original Lakewood police force, said Lakewood Mayor Douglas Richardson.

They were identified as:

• Sergeant Mark Renninger, 39, with thirteen years of law enforcement experience. He is survived by a wife, two daughters and a son.

In a statement issued Sunday, the family said: "Mark was a professional, dedicated police officer who made the ultimate sacrifice. More importantly, he was a loving and devoted father, husband and family member who will be missed by many."

Renninger grew up in Bethlehem, Pa., and came to Washington state after he joined the military, family members said.

• Officer Ronald Owens, age 37 with twelve years of law enforcement experience. He is survived by a former wife and a daughter.

• Officer Tina Griswold, age 40 with fourteen years of law enforcement experience. She is survived by her husband and two children.

• Officer Greg Richards, age 42 with eight years of law enforcement experience. He is survived by a wife and three children.


Hundreds of police vehicles take part in a procession to honor the fallen officers Sunday night.
Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar publicly identified the four slain police officers after an extensive and very difficult notification process.

"All four of our slain officers had been with this department since it started five years ago. Sergeant Mark Renninger and Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards were police veterans when they started and all have been outstanding professionals.

"This is a very difficult time for our families and our officers. The families will have many challenges ahead of them and we ask that their privacy be respected. Please keep our families and Lakewood Police in your prayers.”

Richardson and Neiditz said all four transferred to Lakewood as commissioned law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions when the police force was formed.

"Their dedication and selfless service contributed immensely toward the successful creation of the Lakewood Police Department," the statement said.

"Today we have four fewer officers from our force of one hundred commissioned officers. They will be sorely missed. Support from other law enforcement agencies has been very responsive and deeply appreciated."

The four officers were shot and killed as they were preparing for their shifts at the Forza Coffee Co. shop at 11401 Steele St. South.

A lone gunman shot the four uniformed officers as they were working on their laptop computers, then fled the scene.

Richardson and Neiditz called it the "most tragic event in Lakewood’s fourteen years as a city."

"We lost four of our finest in a shocking, heartbreaking, and senseless murder. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with the families and colleagues of these innocent victims during this extraordinarily difficult time."

Those interested in supporting the families of the slain officers are welcome to make a donation through the Lakewood Police Independent Guild (LPIG) Benevolent Fund at PO Box 99579, Lakewood, WA 98499. Please visit their website for more information visit www.lpig.us.

OK, I realize a joke here may be inappropriate, but seriously, a donation to an organization called "LPIG"?? What genius came up with that one?

[Igosplut]

Well, the next question, obviously, is how a guy with a rap sheet as long as his arm, and documented mental health issues was able to buy a gun.

Since this was the Tacoma area, I wouldn't be surprised if it was another cash under the table, skip the background check that he wouldn't have passed, illegal sale from Bullseye guns, the same place where the recently deceased John Allen Muhammad bought his Buckmaster rifle.

WHY do you automatically assume that he bought the gun legally??? Or should I say through legal channels???

You obviously have NO idea how easy it is to get illegal guns on the street. It's much easier to buy a gun off the street, than take the chance of getting caught trying to go though legal FFL dealers who would be prosecuted to a FAR stricter laws (for selling) than the guy who tried to buy the gun under false pretenses in the first place.

[Igosplut]

And it sounds like their having an armed standoff with him right now. And he's wounded or dead...

[standin]

WTF?

Troyer said they've detained some people who helped Clemmons. "It was a long trail to get here. We had different people and different people that have helped him and other vehicles that have been used and tracking it all down, this is where we (were) led and we have determined that he has in fact been shot and that he is, in fact, our suspect. We are not looking for anybody else, he is not a person of interest, he's our suspect."

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Police-officers-shot-78089882.html

The child rapist cop killer had people helping him. utrage:
WTF going on up in Seattle?

Seattle police: Suspect in slaying of officer is 'lone domestic terrorist'
November 8, 2009 12:05 a.m. EST

CNN) -- A suspect in the shooting of a Seattle, Washington, police officer is also believed to be behind the bombing of four police cars, Seattle Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said at a press conference Saturday.

Christopher Monfort, 41, remained hospitalized in serious condition after being shot by officers during a confrontation Friday.

"This man, from everything that we can tell, appears to be a lone domestic terrorist," Pugel said.

Monfort was in custody at the hospital, but no charges had yet been filed, a Seattle police spokeswoman told CNN. Charges could be filed as early as Monday, she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/07/...ing/index.html

[sadaist]

• Officer Ronald Owens....He is survived by a former wife and a daughter.

Former wife? Does that mean she will be getting the insurance money? I just can't figure being survived by a former anything. Seems odd. And why didn't they just say "ex-wife"? Not sound nice enough I suppose.

[FORD]

Fuckabee: "Don't blame me, the parole board did it!11!!1!"

"The senseless and savage execution of police officers in Washington State has saddened the nation, and early reports indicate that a person of interest is a repeat offender who once lived in Arkansas and was wanted on outstanding warrants here and Washington State. The murder of any individual is profound tragedy, but the murder of a police officer is the worst of all murders in that it is an assault on every citizen and the laws we live within.

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. He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990, making him parole eligible and was paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him. It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state. This is a horrible and tragic event and if found and convicted the offender should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our thoughts and prayers are and should be with the families of those honorable, brave, and heroic police officers."

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?fa=News.View&News_id=a9c58e43-9675-4da0-9567-674110678ef8&Label_id=&Year=&Month=

[FORD]

Obviously this is someone who knew what they were doing. I don't think some little gang puke could pull this off. If you can just walk into some hole in the wall coffee shop and waste 4 trained and armed police officers before they can fire a single round in defense, odds are you have some sort of training yourself.

Upon further review, it appears at least one of them might have fired back after all.........

Suspect in Lakewood police slayings wounded, may be dead

SEATTLE, Wash. – A tense standoff with a suspect in the slaying of four Lakewood, Wash., police officers gunned down in a suburban coffee shop, continued at a Seattle house early Monday. The suspect is wounded and possibly dead, police said.

Police used a loudspeaker, flashbangs and what appeared to be tear gas on a building in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood early Monday where suspect Maurice Clemmons was believed to be located.

Clemmons, 37, was shot and wounded during the attack on the four officers Sunday morning, police said, Police said he was apparently shot in the "trunk" of his body and that witnesses and people who have had contact with Clemmons say he had been trying to treat the wound himself. It was unclear what his condition was, or if he was even in the building.

Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas, including aggravated robbery and theft. He has also recently been arrested and charged in Pierce County for assault on a police officer and for rape of a child. After hours of calling Clemmons a "person of interest," Pierce County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ed Troyer declared Clemmons a suspect early Monday.

Troyer confirmed early Monday that the gunman who killed the officers was wounded by one of them, saying one of the officers struggled out the door and fired his gun at the attacker.

"We are no longer using the word person of interest, he is a suspect," Troyer said. "We do believe that he has been shot and he has a gunshot wound and it occured during the incident and that one of the Lakewood police officers managed to shoot him."

Troyer said they've detained some people who helped Clemmons. "It was a long trail to get here. We had different people and different people that have helped him and other vehicles that have been used and tracking it all down, this is where we (were) led and we have determined that he has in fact been shot and that he is, in fact, our suspect. We are not looking for anybody else, he is not a person of interest, he's our suspect."

Troyer went on to say that medics are "standing by and we don't know how we're going to find him. He may be deceased from this gunshot wound, but that's yet to be determined."

Officers surrounding the house shone lights on the house and called out to Clemmons by name, saying: "Mr. Clemmons, I'd like to get you out of there safely. I can tell you this, we are not going away." Authorities in the region have been seeking Clemmons in the Sunday morning shootings of four Lakewood officers, about 30 miles from the Seattle house.

There was no audible response from the house. Police spokesman Jeff Kappel had earlier said police weren't sure anyone was inside, and refused to comment on the negotiator's tactics.

Hours earlier, police cruisers surrounded streets in the neighborhood of 32nd Avenue and Yesler Way in the search for Clemmons. At that time, several law enforcement sources said they believed they had Clemmons pinned down in the neighborhood.

Traffic has been detoured for several blocks in each direction. Police say residents in the area should stay inside and lock their doors.

The four officers were with the 100-member police department of Lakewood, which adjoins the unincorporated area of Parkland, where the shootings took place. They are Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; Ronald Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; and Greg Richards 42.

The officers were in full uniform and wearing bulletproof vests, sitting in Forza coffee shop near 116th Street and Steele Street on the east side of McChord Air Force base at about 8:30 a.m.. They were preparing for their shift when the suspect walked in, went up to the counter as if to order coffee, then turned and opened fire.

Troyer called it an "ambush."

"They had marked police cars, marked uniforms, there were other people inside the facility, they weren't shot, wounded or hurt or even aimed at, just the police officers were," said Troyer.

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.

"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 in a small retail center alongside two restaurants, a cigar store and a nail salon.

Forza Coffee issued a press release, saying their "prayers go out to the family and friends of these officers in the face of this horrific tragedy."

"The cold-blooded ambush that took place at the Steele Street Forza Coffee House in Parkland," the release said.

Forza said a donation area will be established at each coffee house.

"It is Forza's goal to help the families of those who lost their lives during this difficult holiday season, and into the new year as they struggle to reconstruct their lives in the year ahead," said Rich Jennings, Forza owner.

Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor said "this is an example of the danger that police officers and deputy sheriffs and state troopers face every day."

"The person or people who did this not only harmed us they harmed the good that we can do in the community. They harmed the good that we work to do every day in the community," he said.

"We've lost people that we care about, we've lost people I'm sure the good people in the community care about as well," said Pastor.

Police later discovering a white pickup truck abandoned in a supermarket parking lot, matching the description of a possible getaway vehicle. That truck is registered to Clemmons.

Troyer said they are looking to see if there is any surveillance cameras that may have caught the suspect on video.

A $120,000 reward is being offered for information. Tiplines - for tips only - are (253) 591-5959 or (866) 977-2362.

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."

The President of the Lakewood Police Independent Guild, Brian D. Wurts, issued a statement, calling the murders a "cold blooded assassination."

"As I write this I am numb. We were dealt a nasty blow, good men and women I have had the honor of knowing for years are senselessly gone. There is no way to comprehend it, to validate it, or to make sense of any of it. You cannot understand evil like this, as a community we must form a solid bond against criminals and hold them accountable. I know my members and can say with certainty that as a group we will remain professional and will continue to work to protect those of you we have taken an oath to protect. If you know a cop tell them how much you appreciate them, it truly keeps us going. Please pray for these officers and their families. All of them had significant others and children who are left behind," he said.

Wurts said a benevolent account has been established for the families of the officers.

Send donations to LPIG Benevolent Fund at PO Box 99579 Lakewood, WA 98499.

"I will personally make sure it goes where it is intended. May God bless you four who are in a place so much better than this; you are some of the finest professionals I have ever known. God bless our community today," Wurtz said.

[Little Texan]

Huckleberry can deflect the blame all he wants, but the fact remains that if he hadn't pardoned the guy back in 2000, he would still be behind bars and those 4 cops would still be alive.

Goodbye Huckleberry 2012 Presidential run.

[Guitar Shark]

A Washington superior court judge also released him on BAIL recently, so Huckabee is not the only one under intense scrutiny.

[LoungeMachine]

A Washington superior court judge also released him on BAIL recently, so Huckabee is not the only one under intense scrutiny.

Granted, but had Huckabee NOT commuted the sentence, he never would have BEEN in Washington State to begin with.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc is what I believe you sharks call it.

I agree there is plenty of blame to go around, and this is a tragic execution of 4 innocent cops, but I can't help but wonder WHY THE FUCK this guy was ever let out of ARK.

[LoungeMachine]

NOT in this thread you two......



I have no qualms about deleting any off-topic BS in a thread this serious.

[Nickdfresh]

Both of you get the fuck out of this thread!! I'm sick of your feuding threadjack shit! I know it's just a silly thread on a rock board, but I and the posters in this forum shouldn't have to put up with shit like this with the subject matter of four murdered police officers and nine children missing one of their parents!

Now fuck off both of you, or I'm dumping every post you make in this forum!!

[LoungeMachine]

Real classy, thome.