View Full Version : Multiple Officers Reportedly Shot Near McChord Air Force Base in Washington State
Not good. :(
LINK (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577691,00.html)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
PARKLAND, Wash. — Multiple police officers have reportedly been shot near McChord Air Force Base in Parkland, Wash.
Local television news reports did not release information on how many officers were shot or what their conditions are.
Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer tells KOMO-TV that the officers were hit near 116th Street and Steele Street on the east side of the Air Force base at about 8:30 a.m.
Anevolution
11-29-2009, 11:56
4 kia reported by FOXN.
V/r
Anevolution
More info:
LINK (http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/breaking/story/973573.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=2583578#Comments_Container)
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department has reported that four police officers have been shot dead in an ambush at the Forza Coffee coffee shop at 11401 on South Steele Street in Lakewood Sunday morning.
Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said investigators are immediately offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect, and that number is expected to grow.
He could not say what agency the officers were from.
The officers were sitting in the coffee shop with their computers out when the shooter came in. The officers were targeted, and it was not a robbery, investigators believe.
"It was just a flat out ambush," Troyer said.
Pierce County deputies are working at the scene with Tacoma Police, Lakewood Police and the Washington State Patrol.
incarcerated
11-29-2009, 12:42
FOX reports two shooters.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577691,00.html
skylinedrive
11-29-2009, 12:44
RIP officers!!
This sounds bad.
My first thought after reading the story was DEA/Drugs related. Somebody getting too close to a big time local dealer.
But will wait for more news.
Utah Bob
11-29-2009, 13:21
Goddammit!!:mad:
greenberetTFS
11-29-2009, 13:27
Goddammit!!:mad:
Agreed Bob,WTF is going on in our country when shit like this starts happening? :confused:
Big Teddy :munchin
kimberly
11-29-2009, 13:51
Sounds like they had the ambush planned; walk in, shoot and leave. It seems they certainly knew those officers would be there at that time.
What can people do to stay safe in our own neighborhoods?
Goddammit!!:mad:
Well said Sir!
Rest-In-Peace LEO's.
Holly
Ambush Master
11-29-2009, 14:03
What can people do to stay safe in our own neighborhoods?
#1 If you do not already own a Handgun, BUY one!!
#2 Find a School and become proficient with it and be damned sure that you are ready and willing to use it against someone!!
#3 Get a CHL and CARRY ALWAYS!!
Take care.
Martin
kimberly
11-29-2009, 14:08
#1 If you do not already own a Handgun, BUY one!!
#2 Find a School and become proficient with it and be damned sure that you are ready and willing to use it against someone!!
#3 Get a CHL and CARRY ALWAYS!!
Take care.
Martin
Thank you.
Stealthed
11-29-2009, 14:41
This situation is very sad since Seattle just recently had an officer brutally murdered less than a month ago in the same targeted fashion. I lived in Tacoma recently for about a year and can say the crime there and in the outlying areas surrounding it is horrendous. You name it, they got it. Drugs, gangs, prostitution, the whole nine yards. Here's a link from a local news station in Seattle. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78088192.html
RIP Officers... :(
Horrible news. :mad: Rest in Peace.
armymom1228
11-29-2009, 15:38
Not a 'they' but a who... one gunman according to the news.
From CNN
All of the officers -- three males and a female -- were in uniform, wearing vests and had marked patrol cars parked outside, he said.
Police are looking for one man in connection with the attack, which happened at about 8 a.m., Troyer said. The suspect is described as an African-American man, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, wearing a black coat and blue jeans, with a "scruffy" appearance, he said. The man is believed to have fled the coffee shop on foot, he said.
From Fox News
Officers are now searching for one male suspect who opened fire in the shop before fleeing on foot, q13Fox.com reported. Police have not yet ruled out an accomplice.
Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the four officers killed — three men and a woman from the Lakewood Police Department — were in uniform and catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts when they were attacked at 8:15 a.m.
According to one story I read, no one in the coffeeshop but the officers were shot. Geez, that would have been a scary scenario. When they catch the dude, it will be pretty open and shut unless he had a mask on. Leaving witness' geez..
Vaya con Dios Officers.
AM
Trip_Wire (RIP)
11-29-2009, 17:26
It is my understanding that Lakewood, WA Officer Officer Mark Renninger who was one of the four killed today, served with the 2nd Ranger BN, 75th Ranger Regiment from '86 — '95! RLTW!
Bill Harsey
11-29-2009, 19:40
This is very sad news and words fail me.
Prayers out for the officers and their families.
incarcerated
11-29-2009, 20:16
Updates:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/topstories/story/973747.html/
Updates from Parkland-area crime shooting scene
The News Tribune
Published: 11/29/09 1:17 pm | Updated: 11/29/09 6:02 pm
5:00 P.M. UPDATE
New information released from Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said:
The gunman walked into Forza, past the officers and up to the counter as if he was going to place an order. He opened up his coat. The barista turned and ran.
The gunman then turned around and opened fire on the officers....
3:40 P.M. UPDATE
New information from Ed Troyer:
It appears one of the slain officers fought with the gunman. The struggle started inside the coffee shop and went just outside the door, Troyer said.
The officer was able to fire his weapon. It's not known if the suspect was injured....
Photo caption:
Maurice Clemmons, person of interest in slaying of four Lakewood police officers.
Surf n Turf
11-29-2009, 20:41
If they would have left this “suspect” to rot in jail, those officers would be alive today :mad:
SnT
Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protestations of prosecutors.
"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said Sunday night when informed that Clemmons was being sought in connection to the killings.
When Clemmons received the 60-year sentence, he was already serving 48 years on five felony convictions and facing up to 95 more years on charges of robbery, theft of property and possessing a handgun on school property. Records from Clemmons' sentencing described him as 5-foot-7 and 108 pounds. The crimes were committed when he was 17. Clemmons served 11 years before being released.
News accounts say Huckabee then commuted Clemmons' sentence, citing Clemmons' young age at the time the crimes were committed.
Clemmons' criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. The record also stands out for the number of times he has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010385617_webmansought29.html
Warrior-Mentor
11-29-2009, 21:06
If they would have left this “suspect” to rot in jail, those officers would be alive today :mad:
SnT
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010385617_webmansought29.html
Looks like Huckabee just got "Dukakis'd."
VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io9KMSSEZ0Y
It's a shame how good people pay the price for others bad decisions...
Thoughts and prayers are with the families of these Officers.
RIP, LEO's. God be with your families.
LongWire
11-29-2009, 23:11
Rest Easy Officers, May justice be sure and swift!!!!
Mark was good people............:mad:
http://police.cityoflakewood.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77:city-of-lakewood-identifies-slain-police-officers&catid=2:hot-topics&Itemid=59
Huh, let's see. I might be cruelly out of my lane here but ...
Why isn't 4 white cops killed by an African American even considered an hate crime ? What kind of sick depraved violence does it take to press hate crime charge ?
I start to wonder if it's even possible for someone to commit a hate crime against a white person, especially if the victim(s)' an Officer.
As far as I can remember Oakland: 4 white cops killed by a black thug no hate crimes. Knoxville massacre ? Nope, not nearly hateful enough.
I apologize for the rant but I just feel so angry about the lost of four brave men and woman, the suffering their families will endure for the years to come.
Oh yeah, real smooth move from Huckabee releasing a violent child rapist multiple felon; wasn't Huck the guy that was supposed to be the right-wing tough on crime Chuck Norris approved candidate? :mad:
Stingray
11-30-2009, 00:44
Rest in Peace and thank you for your service.
Sincerely,
st1650~
If there is no clear evidence that the assault was racially based, it will not be treated as a hate crime. Just because the officers were all white, and the suspected shooter is black, does not mean that the shooter executed his course of action due to the ethnicity of the police officers. To assume such a thing is foolhardy. Given the context of the situation and the suspected shooter's background, the fact that they were officers of the law had more to do with it than anything else.
My prayers are extended for the families of these officers. Thank you for your service and sacrifice, and for having faith in our nation. Rest in Peace.
Rest in Peace
Thank you for your service.....
My Prayers are out for your family's
Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas. He was also recently charged in Washington state with assaulting a police officer, and second-degree rape of a child. Using a bail bondsman, he posted $150,000 — only $15,000 of his own money — and was released from jail last week.
Documents related to the pending charges in Washington state indicate an unstable and volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of punching a sheriff's deputy in the face, The Seattle Times reported. In another, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress, according to a Pierce County sheriff's report.
"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," the report said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091130/ap_on_re_us/us_officers_shot
May he burn in hell. :mad:
RIP, officers. :(
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Utah Bob
11-30-2009, 07:53
Update here (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34194122/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts)
NBC News and news services
updated 3 minutes ago
SEATTLE - A suspect in the slaying of four police officers gunned down in a suburban coffee shop was in a Seattle house early Monday, wounded and possibly dead, police said.
Negotiators were trying to communicate with Maurice Clemmons, 37, using loudspeakers and explosions to try to prod him from hiding. At one point, gunshots rang through the neighborhood, which is some 30 miles from the original crime scene.
"We have determined that in fact he has been shot," said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff. "He may be deceased from his gunshot wound."
NBC News reported Monday that police had not been able to make contact with Clemmons.
Authorities had speculated early Sunday that the gunman might have been wounded at the coffee shop by one of his victims. Troyer said interviews with others detained in the investigation confirmed that theory.
'We are not going away'
Police surrounded the house late Sunday, and a negotiator used a loudspeaker early Monday to call him out 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."
Any response from inside the house was inaudible from the vantage of a photographer for The Associated Press. But shortly thereafter, police began using sirens outside the house, and there were several loud bangs before the negotiator resumed speaking, saying: "This is one of the toughest decisions you'll make in your life, but you need to man up."
By 3 a.m. Pacific time, the loudspeakers and explosions had fallen silent.
Clemmons, 37, who had a lengthy prison sentence commuted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nearly a decade ago, became the prime target Sunday in the search for the killer of Lakewood Police Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; and Officers Ronald Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; and Greg Richards 42.
Clemmons is believed to have been in the area around the time of the shooting, but Troyer declined to say what evidence might link him to the shooting.
Utah Bob
11-30-2009, 07:56
Continued
On Sunday, Huckabee deflected blame with a statement on his Web site.
"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 wrote.
Investigators say they know of no reason that Clemmons or anyone else might have had to open fire on the four as they sat working on their laptops early Sunday morning, catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts.
"We're going to be surprised if there is a motive worth mentioning," said Troyer, who sketched out a scene of controlled and deliberate carnage that spared the employees and other customers at the coffee shop in suburban Parkland, south of Seattle.
"He was very versed with the weapon," Troyer said. "This wasn't something where the windows were shot up and there bullets sprayed around the place. The bullets hit their targets."
Extensive criminal history
Officer 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.
Video
Sheriff's dept.: 'The suspect may be hurt'
Nov. 29: Pierce County, Wash,, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer, says one of the four officers that was shot and killed by a gunman apparently struggled with the suspect, getting off a few shots. Watch his news conference.
msnbc tv
Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas. 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 — only $15,000 of his own money — and was released from jail last week.
Documents related to the pending charges in Washington state indicate an unstable and volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of punching a sheriff's deputy in the face, The Seattle Times reported. In another, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress, according to a Pierce County sheriff's report.
"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," the report said.
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.
In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery. He was paroled in 2000 after Huckabee commuted a 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.
There was no indication of any connection between Sunday's killings and the Halloween night shooting of a Seattle police officer.
Authorities say theman 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.
The officers killed Sunday had received no threats, 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.
CoLawman
11-30-2009, 08:26
Rest in Peace Officers. Damn you Huckabee!
LongWire
11-30-2009, 09:12
Thanks for the update Bob.
Where do they get the reporters for these things? San Diego is south of Seattle too, but its not right next door or part of Seattle's "burbs."
Parkland is south-east of Tacoma, and part of Pierce County which is the "burbs" of Tacoma. This ambush was conducted just east of McChord AFB which is just North of Ft Lewis Wa, along the I-5 corridor.
Washington is an open carry state, although I'm sure this guy wasn't carrying in the open.
This really sucks, I hope he bleeds out painfully!!!!
Goggles Pizano
11-30-2009, 09:38
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti Amen.
In pace requiescat my brothers and sister.
Dominus vobiscum.
Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio, contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae coelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen
There is no justice here but death to this animal. I don't want a trial, I want revenge. You harm a child, or murder a police officer-you die. Das ist Das Ende fur dich.
Team Sergeant
11-30-2009, 09:51
Rest in Peace Officers. Damn you Huckabee!
I agree.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577765,00.html
The latest from Fox news.
And I raise a question here. Situational awareness. Where was theirs and could any one of us have made a difference if it had beeon one of us sitting there? It's a question I even hate to ask considering the circumstances. Too bad we even have to think on these kinds of things.
RIP, Officers. May your families find peace during this difficult time.
Mick
greenberetTFS
11-30-2009, 11:24
Rest in Peace Officers. Damn you Huckabee!
Exactly.................:(
Big Teddy
IMHO, SA is the challenge for LEO's that should take a dramatic shift after this horror story. Lesson Learned: Take care of police admin business at the station and not at the coffee shop. If you stop for lunch do so in a group and post a sentry.
Too bad we even have to think on these kinds of things.
Yes, it is. And no one probably could have made an impact on the outcome. But, the effort would have been worth the risk. Now the crud-ball is on the run. Expect to see him turn himself in to Canadian Mounties to reduce extradition for a death penalty. The turd is an experienced ex-con. This will not end well unless he gets caught in a shootout and looses.
This will not end well unless he gets caught in a shootout and looses.
I couldn't agree more. A dead perp can't complain abuse of force used and sue later.
Utah Bob
11-30-2009, 17:33
I can't critique the officers' SA much with the info at hand but I can tell you when you're seated with your pistol holstered and somebody suddenly has a weapon in their hand you are not going to get the first shot off and you'll be lucky to come out on top. The fact that they all had their laptops going and were probably distracted is a real problem.
I have trained in such scenarios. It's really difficult. You are at a tactical disadvantage, even more so that you are on a traffic stop. It appears the perp pulled the gun and immediately opened fire. They are saying that at least one officer returned fire and he was hit. Hopefully he was gutshot and crawled into a dumpster to die.
A bad day all around,:(
Red Flag 1
11-30-2009, 17:38
Rest in Peace Officers. Damn you Huckabee!
Well said!!
Rest In Peace Officers!!
Prayers out!
There must be something in the air in the PNW this month or we have more than our share of scumbags.
This tragedy and the at least 4 murder suicides (or failed suicides) here in Oregon during November. Last night some guy shot his girlfriend and failed to finish himself off. This was 2 blocks from my work and a coworker was 2 stores away when it happened.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/78104617.html
RIP all.
incarcerated
12-01-2009, 00:48
There's plenty of damnation to go around.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8387681.stm
Police murder suspect in Seattle 'aided by friends'
04:13 GMT, Tuesday, 1 December 2009
The man accused of shooting dead four police officers in the US state of Washington is still alive and has been helped by friends, police say.
A sheriff's spokesman said police had spoken to several people who had provided help to Maurice Clemmons since the attack on Sunday morning....
'Step ahead'
Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff, told the Associated Press news agency that the authorities believed Mr Clemmons had had help, gaining access to guns.
"It's unfortunate he's been a step or two ahead of us," Mr Troyer said.
But he added: "We think his network of people helping him is running out. He's probably on his own...."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::
An update:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/01/washington.police.shootings/index.html
Investigators round up suspect's relatives in police killings
CNN.com ^ | 12/01/09 | Staff
Seattle, Washington (CNN) -- Investigators searching for the suspected killer of four Seattle-area police officers have rounded up several of his relatives and friends to keep them from helping him escape, a sheriff's spokesman said Monday.
Police have brought in five or six relatives and other acquaintances of Maurice Clemmons, "and we expect that number to grow," Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer said.
Some of Clemmons' family and friends have been trying to help him elude police and seek treatment for a gunshot wound, and they have tried to divert investigators by calling in false leads, he said.
"What we're going to do is eliminate those people, so he'll have no place to go," Troyer told CNN. A raid in the southern Seattle suburb of Renton late Monday was aimed at cutting off Clemmons from that support network, he said.
Clemmons, 37, is an ex-convict with a long rap sheet in Washington and Arkansas, according to authorities and documents. He is wanted in what police called the ambush-style killing of four police officers from Lakewood, near Tacoma, about 40 miles south of Seattle. Witnesses say Clemmons was shot in the torso during the Sunday morning attack, and blood and gauze bandages were found in a truck linked to Clemmons, Troyer said.
The sheriff's department said associates who refuse to cooperate with the investigation could face criminal charges....
incarcerated
12-01-2009, 00:55
Mentioned below are the fatalities. Anyone have any numbers on non-fatal police shootings and how they are trending in 2009 compared to recent years?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1201/p02s01-usgn.html
Seattle police ambush: cop-killing rampages up this year
Sunday's police ambush near Seattle was the fifth shooting in which more than one police officer died. The 15 officers killed this year in multiple-shooting incidents is the highest since 2000.
By Michael B. Farrell | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the November 30, 2009 edition
San Francisco - Sunday's shooting deaths of four police officers in suburban Seattle is the fifth such attack on law enforcement this year, adding a grim chapter to a year in which the number of shooting deaths of police officers nationwide is up.
In total, 15 officers have been killed in multiple-shootings incidents, up from four in 2008 and the most since 2000. Meanwhile, 44 officers total have been shot and killed in 2009, compared with 37 during the period last year – an increase of 19 percent.
This comes as police fatalities overall have dropped – from 122 on this date in 2008 to 113 this year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF). The decline is the result of a drop in traffic accidents, which is the largest cause of officer death, says NLEOMF spokesman Kevin Morison.
Yet the multiple shooting incidents this year are causing alarm in the law enforcement community.
"It certainly is cause for concern to see these numbers," says Mr. Morison. "Policing remains an increasingly dangerous job and people are out there who remain intent on targeting officers."
Other incidents in 2009
• In March, four Oakland, Calif., police officers were shot and killed in a gun battle with a parolee.
• Two weeks later in Pittsburgh, three officers were fatally wounded while responding to a domestic disturbance call. The suspect was heavily armed and wearing a bulletproof vest.
• Also in April, two sheriff's deputies in Florida's Okaloosa County were killed trying to apprehend a man wanted in connection with a domestic disturbance.
• In July, two Oklahoma deputies were killed in July trying to arrest a 22-year-old man who failed to show up in court on charges he attempted to strangle his mother.
A far cry from the 1970s
Still, this year's number of police shot and killed is a dramatic drop from 2007, when 68 officers were shot and killed in the line of duty. And recent statistics are far from the numbers of the 1970s, when "an average of 126 officers a year were killed by gunfire," according to a recent NLEOMF report.
Sunday's shooting in Washington was "the deadliest attack on law enforcement in state history," according to the Seattle Times, and follows a Halloween night shooting death of an officer in Seattle. The suspect in that case is also charged with firebombing several police vehicles in what officials have said was a one-man crusade against the police.
Suspect was out on bail
The suspect in the Sunday shootings, Maurice Clemmons, remained at-large as of Monday afternoon. Mr. Clemmons has a long and violent criminal history. According to recent reports, there have also been questions about his mental health.
According to the Seattle Times, Clemmons was out on bail when the shooting occurred. He had been in jail pending a trial on second-degree child rape charges and made bail just six days ago.
So far there is no indication of any motive for the killing of the four officers.
"We're going to be surprised if there is a motive worth mentioning," Ed Troye, spokesman for the Pierce County, Wash., sheriff's department told the Associated Press. He said that police won't know what may have sparked the shooting deaths "until we get the case solved."
CoLawman
12-01-2009, 08:26
[QUOTE=incarcerated;299241]Mentioned below are the fatalities. Anyone have any numbers on non-fatal police shootings and how they are trending in 2009 compared to recent years?
Year............ Line of Duty Deaths....... Murdered
09 ........................111 ............................44
08 ........................138 ............................44
07 ........................193 ............................65
06 ........................156 ............................55
05 ........................164 ............................55
04 ........................164 ............................58
03 ........................147 ............................51
Source: www.odmp.org which is a memorial site for officers killed in the line of duty. It is an interactive site that allows for research on a variety of concerns. It is also an excellent site to leave memorials which are reviewed often by family and friends of those who gave their lives in the line of duty.
Rumblyguts
12-01-2009, 08:42
nevermind, didn't see the thread about the suspect's death...