Suspect in Washington State police killings is shot dead [Archive]

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Stealthed

12-01-2009, 06:39

I know there's a thread about this story already, but I wanted everyone to see this update.

Justice is served. Rot in hell shizerbag.

Link to the story from my local news station's website in Seattle.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78211742.html

SEATTLE -- A lone officer on patrol in the middle of the night Tuesday spotted a stolen car, its hood up and engine running, and pulled over to check it out. As the patrolman sat in his cruiser, a burly man with a large mole on his cheek came up from behind.

The officer turned and instantly recognized the most wanted man in the Pacific Northwest - the ex-con accused of gunning down four cops at a coffee shop.

The officer got out of his car, immediately recognized the man as Maurice Clemmons, and ordered him to show his hands and stop.

Clemmons refused, and while the officer was drawing his gun, the man reached into his waist and moved, police said.

Moments later Clemmons, 37, lay dead in the street, shot by the patrolman after Clemmons made a move for a gun he had taken from one of the slain officers, police said.

Clemmons was struck at least twice, police said. After Clemmons was pronounced dead, officers found a gun in Clemmons' front pocket.

Clemmons' death brought to an end two days of fear across the Seattle-Tacoma area and one of the biggest manhunts the region has ever seen. Dozens of police officers milled around at the scene afterward, some solemnly shaking hands and patting each other on the back.

"Good thing he wasn't able to get the gun out here or we might have had a different ending to this whole thing," Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. "The officer in Seattle did a good job of making sure he went home safe tonight."

Clemmons eluded capture thanks to family and friends who provided him with shelter, cell phones, cash and first aid for the severe belly wound he suffered when one of the dying officers in Sunday's coffee-shop rampage got off a shot, police said. Six to seven of those associates were being arrested Tuesday.

Police officers look over the body of the suspected Lakewood, Wash. police killer Maurice Clemmons. (AP Photo/Seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo)
Among them were an accomplice who drove the getaway truck after the rampage and Clemmons' sister, who bandaged him up and gave him a lift to a house in Seattle, police said.

"Some are friends, some are acquaintances, some are partners in crime, some are relatives. Now they're all partners in crime," Troyer said.

It was not clear exactly where Clemmons was while on the run. Police rushed from place to place, following tips that often came up empty or yielded only accomplices. They searched homes and apartments around the city and cordoned off a park after a report of blood in a restroom.

On Sunday, Clemmons briefly took refuge at a house in the city's well-to-do Leschi neighborhood, slipping away before police surrounded the home in an all-night siege that ended when SWAT officers stormed the place and realized he wasn't there.

Clemmons has a violent, erratic past, and authorities in Washington state and Arkansas - where then-Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2000 commuted his 108-year prison sentence for armed robbery and other offenses - are facing tough questions about why an apparently violent and deranged man was out on the street.

On Sunday, six days after posting bail in Washington on charges of raping a child, Clemmons walked into the coffee shop in suburban Tacoma and killed four uniformed Lakewood police officers as they caught up on paperwork on their laptops, police said.

"The only motive that we have is he decided he was going to go kill police officers," Troyer said. Investigators also reported that Clemmons told others the night before the shooting that he was going to kill police and they should watch the news, but they wrote it off as "crazy-talk."

In a statement posted on the conservative Newsmax.com Web site, Huckabee said: "I take full responsibility for my actions of nine years ago. I acted on the facts presented to me in 2000. If I could have possibly known what Clemmons would do nine years later, I obviously would have made a different decision. But if the same file was presented to me today, I would have likely made the same decision."

The Seattle patrol officer who killed Clemmons, Benjamin L. Kelly, 39, a seven-year law enforcement veteran, will be placed on leave, which is standard procedure after a shooting.

The officer was driving in a working-class neighborhood of south Seattle at about 2:45 a.m. when he came across a stolen car, its engine running, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel said.

As he sat in his cruiser, beginning paperwork on the car, he sensed movement, turned and saw someone approaching, Pugel said. The officer stepped out and immediately recognized the man, whose face had been all over TV and mugshot fliers memorized by every officer in the region.

The patrolman ordered Clemmons to freeze and show his hands, but he kept moving, and the officer fired several rounds, hitting the man at least twice, Pugel said.

Police said Clemmons would have died eventually of the gunshot wound he suffered in the coffee-shop rampage.

At the time of his arrest in Washington state earlier this year, investigators said Clemmons had visions that he was Jesus Christ and that the world was on the verge of the apocalypse. He also "told the officer President Obama and Lebron James are his brothers, Oprah (Winfrey) is his sister and referred to himself as 'the beast,"' according to court papers obtained by The News Tribune of Tacoma.

A psychological evaluation in October found he was a risk to public safety, but not enough of one to justify committing him, the newspaper reported.

---

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Manuel Valdes in Seattle, Rachel La Corte in Tacoma, George Tibbits in Seattle, Andrew DeMillo and Jill Zeman Bleed in Little Rock, Ark., and photographers Elaine Thompson in Seattle and Ted S. Warren in Parkland, Wash.

nmap

12-01-2009, 06:50

Good news; thank you, Stealthed.

Red Flag 1

12-01-2009, 07:09

Great news indeed!!

I'm sure the ACLU will morn his passing and/or file charges against LE somehow:mad:.

RF 1

Warrior-Mentor

12-01-2009, 07:12

My heart bleeds for him. Not.

Bordercop

12-01-2009, 07:17

May he roast in hell!

TrapLine

12-01-2009, 07:52

I am glad to see no money will be wasted on the trial of this guy. Good work by the officer who ended this. Continued prayers out for the families of the fallen.

LongWire

12-01-2009, 08:04

Great News!!!!! Rot in Hell Scumbag!!!!!!

Goggles Pizano

12-01-2009, 08:49

Thank you Seattle PD for a thorough investigation and tireless search. To the officer who dropped this animal BLESS YOU and GREAT JOB! Glad you are well and going home to your family tonight.
I hope the AG's office follows through on felony hindering charges to all involved aiding that piece of garbage.

Five-O

12-01-2009, 08:51

Great situational awareness, instincts and police work by the Seattle officer. That officer did what every good officer wanted to do.

CoLawman

12-01-2009, 08:51

Seattle Police Assistant Chief Jim Pugel said a Seattle police officer on patrol in South Seattle came upon an unoccupied running car that had been reported stolen earlier in the night.

As the officer radioed in the license plate and began his investigation of the stolen car, he noticed someone behind his police cruiser. The officer got out and recognized the person as Clemmons, Pugel said.

The officer ordered the person to stop and show his hands, but the man did not comply and began to run away around the vehicle.

The officer fired several rounds and struck the man, gravely wounding him. Seattle medics responded and loaded the wounded man into an ambulance, but he was pronounced dead a short time later. Officers later confirmed the man was Clemmons.

Pugel said Clemmons had a gun on him that was traced back to one stolen from one of the killed officers at the Lakewood coffee shop.

The Seattle officer was not hurt in Tuesday morning's shooting. Pugel has not identified him, except to say he is a seven year veteran of the force. The officer has been placed on administrative leave as per standard policy. Police are also talking to two witnesses to the event.

Clemmons meet one of Seattle's finest!

Utah Bob

12-01-2009, 09:09

Finally some good news, albeit tempered with sadness for the officers who were taken from their families.

The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon,

He was right. It ended.....for him.

dennisw

12-01-2009, 09:23

Seattle medics responded and loaded the wounded man into an ambulance, but he was pronounced dead a short time later.

I would like to believe the medics went to the cafe where the policeman were killed and had a donut while Clemmons bled out in the ambulance. Perhaps that is too much to hope for.

From delusions of grandeur, to the reality of life after death. Enjoy your time in hell Clemmons.

ck333

12-01-2009, 13:44

Red Flag 1

12-01-2009, 15:22

greenberetTFS

12-01-2009, 17:22

Finally some good news, albeit tempered with sadness for the officers who were taken from their families.

He was right. It ended.....for him.

Bob,

Your absolutely right,we needed some good news.................:D:D:D

Big Teddy :munchin

MeC86

12-01-2009, 17:32

Good news indeed. Thanks for the post.

SF_BHT

12-01-2009, 17:36

Great news and may he rot in Hell

Gypsy

12-01-2009, 18:01

Dead is good.

dennisw

12-01-2009, 18:02

Maybe we should all pitch in and have Mr. Harsey fabricate a special knife for the policeman who ended this guy's story. :lifter

mojaveman

12-01-2009, 20:00

I'm sure glad that officer saw him approaching and took care of business. Capping that guy sure saved the Washington State tax payers a lot of money.

bluebb

12-01-2009, 20:44

Officer who shot Clemmons is hailed as a 'hero'
By VANESSA HO and CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Seattle police officer Benjamin L. Kelly is being hailed as a hero for his actions early Tuesday morning, in which he single-handedly shot and killed Maurice Clemmons, the man wanted in Sunday's killings of four Pierce County officers.

After an intense, two-day manhunt for Clemmons, Kelly had stopped to check out a stolen car parked on the side of a road in Rainier Valley. Clemmons was outside the car. Kelly recognized him from police bulletins and ordered him to put up his hands, police said. When he refused, Kelly shot Clemmons.

"It was incredible police work. He's an incredible officer. He is nothing short of a hero, although he would bristle at being called that," said Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, explaining that Kelly is a private person.

"I told him, 'You caught the suspect responsible for the worst police massacre in Washington state history. You need to take a deep breath and soak that in.' "

A four-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, Kelly is a third-watch patrol officer in the South Precinct. He was placed on administrative leave following the early morning shooting, which is standard procedure.

"He was alone, and was confronted by this guy, and knew it was him," O'Neill said. "(Clemmons) wouldn't put his hands out, and to later find that he had the dead officer's gun on his person, one can only assume what he was approaching (Kelly) for."

The pistol found on Clemmons matched the serial number of a gun belonging to one of the officers slain in Pierce County. They were killed while working on their laptops in a Lakewood coffee shop.

On Tuesday, some Seattle police officers said they believed that the South Seattle incident - in which Clemmons had the hood up and motor running of a stolen car - may have been an attempted ambush of police officers by Clemmons.

He had previously told acquaintances that he would hurt cops. Assistant Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel said Clemmons approached Kelly from behind.

Before joining the department in March 2005, Kelly, 39, was a special agent for the Washington State Gambling Commission for roughly two years, in which he made sure gambling license-holders were in compliance.

In 2004, he graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Academy in the top of his class academically and in overall performance. According to records from the Washington State Justice Training Commission, Kelly has a master's degree. He also served in the military.

Earlier this year, a colleague nominated Kelly - whom fellow officers praised as a dedicated officer - for an award at the eighth annual Seattle Police Awards Banquet. Additional details were not immediately available.

Police reports show Kelly has experience handling gang-related calls.

Earlier this month, he and his partner responded to an armed robbery of a pizza delivery man in the 3500 block of South Juneau Street. The investigation is ongoing.

In July, he responded to what police described as two gang-related shootings at a house in the 7900 block of 45th Avenue South.

"There were several other occupants of the residence during the incident that refused to identify themselves to police," Kelly wrote in his report. A few hours later that night, police were dispatched to a shooting at another house, which prompted the arrival of SWAT officers.

Reports show he is also experienced handling car prowls -- similar incidents to the scenario Kelly initially approached Tuesday morning.

O'Neill said the fatal shooting capped weeks of turmoil among officers, who were already mourning the death of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton, who was killed while sitting in his patrol car on Halloween night.

"It's been such a roller coaster of emotions for the last six weeks," O'Neill said.

"Right now, officers can start the grieving process. Because when you're looking for a killer, you really don't feel you can exhale and start to grieve. Now that it's over, everyone can start honoring the officers in Lakewood."

Every officer handles a shooting scenario differently, said King County Sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart, who has more than two decades with the Sheriff's Office.

"I don't know of any police officer who wants to shoot someone in their career," he said. "If they do, I've never met one.

"We're trained to avoid it when we can. But we all realize at some point we may be called on -- expected to -- use lethal force."

Sgt. Pete Verhaar, a veteran Seattle police firearms training instructor, told the Seattle P-I last year that officers are trained to think action beats reaction when facing a lethal threat.

Verhaar, who the department said was not available Tuesday, told of an officer who shot a teenager after he refused to follow commands and pulled a cell phone in a dark area.

The homicide was ruled justifiable, but every year, the boy's parents send the officer a birthday card to remind him that he killed their son.

"Whenever an officer is involved in a shooting, they think about it forever," Verhaar said. "They try to forget. They never can."

"It stays with you the rest of your life."

dr. mabuse

12-01-2009, 21:46

Good hunting, Office Kelly. OODA still works.

T-Rock

12-02-2009, 10:02

Was Maurice Clemmons a convert to Islam in prison :confused:
It appears The Seattle Blackfoot Soldiers, an offshoot of the Nation of Islam, are celebrating him as a martyr :mad:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=MAURICE+CLEMMONS+The+Seattle+Blackfoot+Soldiers% 2C+an+offshoot+of+the+Nation+of+Islam%2C&aq=f&aqi=&oq=MAURICE+CLEMMONS+&fp=befd3a870de5664a

The Reaper

12-02-2009, 10:38

Warrior-Mentor

12-02-2009, 16:15

Nice website:

http://blackmalefelon.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/adorned-with-virgins-jewelry-crowned-seattle-bow-martyr-against-white-terrorist-police-maurice-clemmons/

May karma pay off should the owner of this site ever stand before a jury...

This should help with the liberal sympathy vote too...

http://blackmalefelon.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/whos-your-favorite-officer-down-mark-renninger-tina-griswold-greg-richards-or-ronald-owens-seattle-black-foot-soldiers-praise-preemptive-strike-on-terrorists/

nmap

12-02-2009, 16:50

For those with a possibility of high blood pressure - you might wish to skip this post.

The following images and link are official correspondence between the Arkansas prosecutor who objected to clemency and the Governor's office.

LINK (http://documents.nytimes.com/01huckabee/page/28#p=28)

Utah Bob

12-02-2009, 18:02

Saw a pic of the late Clemmons taken at the scene. He received what appears to be a contact wound about 6" above the navel in the initial incident. Remarkable that he was still walking around two days later. Too stupid to know he was dead.

Paslode

12-02-2009, 18:16

Richard

12-05-2009, 08:29

Something that makes you wonder about how well the 'system' functions...or fails to function as the case may be. :mad:

And so it goes...

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Cross-State Confusion Left Alleged Gunman Free
Austin Jenkins, NPR, 5 Dec 2009

Emotions are raw nearly a week after an Arkansas parolee — living in Washington state — allegedly ambushed and murdered four police officers.

The murders have left authorities asking why Maurice Clemmons wasn't in jail last Sunday, when he allegedly walked into a coffee shop near Tacoma, Wash., and killed the officers.

Clemmons had a long rap sheet, but also a history of catching breaks.

In 2000, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted Clemmons' 95-year sentence for crimes he had committed as a teenager.

Earlier this year, Clemmons racked up a spate of new felony charges in Washington — including one for child rape, a violation of his Arkansas parole.

He was arrested, but six days before the murders Clemmons posted bail and walked free.

How did this happen? Eldon Vail, Washington’s secretary of corrections, says Arkansas botched an arrest warrant by not entering it into the national crime database.

"When it came time to release him, typically the jail would look to see if there are any warrants," said Vail. "When they looked there was no warrant in the system. It’s a simple as that."

Previously, Arkansas had issued a warrant and entered it into the national database. But once Clemmons was arrested, Arkansas rescinded that warrant. That triggered a heated e-mail exchange between Washington and Arkansas corrections officials this summer over how to prevent Clemmons from bailing out of jail.

Eventually Arkansas issued a second warrant that should have kept him behind bars. But Washington officials say the cover sheet was filled out incorrectly, and since it wasn't put into the national database, jailers had no way of knowing not to release Clemmons.

Matt Decample, a spokesman for Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, says the warrant was filled out correctly and there's a good reason it wasn't entered.

"You enter a warrant into the National Crime Information Center database when you can't find someone — when you’re needing to locate someone," Decample says. "This is someone who was already in the system; [he had] been in custody. It was known where he was. And so that warrant was entered into the Interstate Compact."

The Interstate Compact is an agreement among all 50 states. It basically says if an offender moves out of the state where he committed his crime, the state where he moves will take over supervision of his parole.

Now, a defiant Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire announced this week that Washington will no longer accept Arkansas parolees — at least for now

"My job is to protect the people of the state of Washington, first and foremost," Gregoire says. "And when I don’t feel that’s happening, I have to take a step like this, and so if Arkansas doesn’t like it, sue me."

Arkansas says it has no plans to sue. The governors of both states have agreed to jointly review the Interstate Compact rules.

Meanwhile, Clemmons is dead, but the case goes on.

Several of his friends and family members have been arrested for helping him evade police after the shootings.

Melanie Burwell is a sister-in-law of one of the slain officers.

"They shouldn't have been on the streets," she says. "None of them. And yet they take away husbands and wives and fathers."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121093184&ft=1&f=1003

Warrior-Mentor

12-07-2009, 16:19

More on Maurice "the Molester"...

SOURCE:
http://sonoranweeklyreview.com/?p=1073#idc-ctools

Maurice Clemmons – dangerous criminal? or good muslim?
TRIBUNE
By Annie Hamilton

What do you think about when you hear the name, “Maurice Clemmons?” son? father? husband? cop killer? victim? black man? American?

How about ….child rapist, pedophile, muslim, bully, idiot, murderer?

I think it’s time we stop talking about about people ‘politely’ like we’re back in Old England, fearful the relatives are going to crawl out of the walls and beat us for not being politically correct. Enough is enough. The truth is, the guy was nothing but a thug. Who cares WHAT the Governor’s excuse is, the guy was a punk at sixteen and shouldn’t have been pardoned, end of discussion. Granted, Huckabee may not be as culpable as the clowns in Washington State who ultimately freed the animal but they all deserve to be incarcerated for their careless actions as well as where they led.

Child rape. terror. murder. A kid’s life is only worth $150,000? (the bail in the child rape case) THESE PEOPLE REPRESENT US AND THEY’RE DOING A MISERABLE JOB. Enough with the slacker work, How stupid have we become as a society that we cannot connect dots? my initial gut was right on.

MAURICE CLEMMONS TIED TO “RELIGION OF PEACE”

I’d like to take a moment to let you know that the Nation of Islam has honored Clemmons in the State of Washington for his “actions”

“The Last Crusade” reported on 12/1/09 that The SEATTLE BLACKFOOT SOLDIERS, a Muslim Organization, led by Alfred “Issaquah” Shafford held a rally in honor of their ‘hero’ for ‘doing his part’ in bringing down the ‘white terror racist police regime’ in assassinating four law enforcement officers last week in the coffee shop on Steele street in Parkland, Washington.

“think not that I am come to send peace on earth I came but a sword.”

According to Police reports, Clemmons’ first brush with the law, was at age 16, for burglery, and an unbelievable crime spree that landed him behind bars with a massive jail sentence.

SO WHAT EXACTLY WAS HE CHARGED WITH?

Initially, his multiple felonies included burgluries, assault on law enforcement, assault, rape and other charges dating back twenty years. No one can figure out exactly WHY he was ever released from the system, Arkansas, Washington or anywhere.

But then…most of us go by the conventional laws of society.

And what does Islam/Qur’an say about Clemmons behavior, anyway?

For starters, Islam is NOT a religion, it’s a political ideology based on a trilogy. The Qur’an is what Mohammed reported the angel Gabriel said Allah said but he also said it doesn’t contain enough to guide the average muslim, therefore Mohammed’s words and deeds are called the Sunna, which are divided into two separate books, the Hadith and Sira. There are several versions of the Hadith but the most common is the Bukhari. The most authoritative version would be known as Ibn Ishaq.

“Mohammed accepted jihadists rape of kafir women” (Bukhari 3,34,431)

Bukhari 5,59,377, During the battle of Uhud, a man asked Mohammed, “Where will I go if I am killed in battle?” Mohammed said, “Paradise” The man then threw away the meal that he was carrying, joined the battle, and fought until he was killed.

Muslim 020,0649 Mohammed:”, except debt, all sins of a martyr are forgiven”

Shafford advised brothers to prepare for street penitentiary protest and party unlike any previously known and to collect pictures and prepare effigies of the four slain Lakewood police officers for desecration and destruction.

RULES FOR BLACKFOOT SOLDIERS
proclaimed the following rules for fellow Black Muslims:

“1. Never stop for white cops. They are terrorists.

“2. Under terrorism laws, you have to defend yourself.

“3. Never reveal your identity to white cops. They are terrorists.”

Clemmons, the Last Crusade had recently learned from an Arkansas law enforcement official, became a member of the Nation of Islam while serving time in the Cummins Prison.

Based upon the evidence available, it would appear that Clemmons followed his chosen ideology letter and verse.

PSM

12-08-2009, 10:20