Four Police Officers Dead, Ex-Con Suspect Maurice Clemmons being Sought for Questioning in Ambush Murders

It was a brutal and heinous execution type ambush murder. Tragically, four Lakeland, Washington police officers lost their lives as Sunday morning as a individual gunned them down as the unsuspecting police officers sat at the Forza Coffee shop.

Lakeland’s Finest: Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; Officers Ronald Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; Gregory Richards, 42.

According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the slain officers have been identified as 39-year-old Sergeant Mark Renninger, 37-year-old Officer Ronald Owen, 40-year-old Officer Tina Griswold and 42-year-old Officer Greg Richards.

Renninger, a 13-year law enforcement veteran, was a dedicated family man with a wife and three children.

37 year old ex-con Maurice Clemmons is being sought as a person of interest in the shooting and murders of the four Lakeland officers. Clemmons is being called a POI and not a suspect, just yet. Clemmons was seen in the area of the shootings at the time they occurred. It is reported that Clemmons had been shot in the abdomen.What a shock, Clemmons has an extensive criminal record and was just recently released from jail. He has a criminal history in both Arkansas and Washington.

Maurice Clemmons

Clemmons, who was recently released from jail, has an extensive criminal record in Pierce County and Arkansas, court records show. He currently faces eight criminal charges in Washington state.

The four officers were killed at about 8:15 a.m. by a scruffy-looking man who walked into a coffee shop and opened fire. The officers — three men and one woman — were found dead by deputies who arrived at Forza Coffee at 11401 Steele St. S., Troyer said.

Why are we not surprised … Maurice Clemmons, man wanted for questioning, has troubling criminal history. Clemmons has a long criminal record of  violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health. What, because we think that a person who guns down four police officers in cold blood is a boy scout? Updates from The Other McCain.

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.

From Michelle Malkin: Violent felon granted clemency by Huckabee now sought in Lakewood, WA police ambush.

Statement from Mike Huckabee.com:

“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. (snip)

UPDATE I: According to reports, there is a tense standoff with the suspect in the slaying of four Lakewood, Wash., police officers. SWAT and police have surrounded a Leschi home in Seattle where it is presumed that the cop killer Maurice Clemmons is suspected of being located.

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

UPDATE II: Suspect in Lakewood police shootings not in Leschi home. Seattle Police: Cop-Killing Suspect on The Loose

A Seattle police SWAT team this morning swarmed a Leschi home surrounded overnight but did not find suspected cop killer Maurice Clemmons inside.

A murder warrant has been issued for Clemmons, the man suspected of killing four Lakewood police officers Sunday in a Parkland coffee shop, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Police had surrounded the home late Sunday night and Troyer said the search of the house finished shortly after 7 a.m. Officers searched with a robot before SWAT officers moved in.

UPDATE III: From HUCK PAC … more thoughts on the statement.

I guess it is a good thing that Mike Huckabee just recently said that he was most likely not going to run for President in 2012. After the terrible PR from the 4 police officers gunned down by a convict granted clemency by then Arkansas Mike Huckebee, the chances just became even less. Don’t quit your weekend job on Fox, Mike. For some one who talks about personal responsibility, Mike Huckabee, you might want to take a bit more yourself than blaming this on the failures of the criminal justice system.

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, this commutation made him parole eligible and he was then 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.

UPDATE IV: UW police alert students to suspect sighting

SEATTLE — University of Washington police have alerted students to an unconfirmed report that the suspect in the Lakewood police shootings may have been sighted on or near the campus in Seattle.

Cmdr. Jerome Solomon says someone reported that Maurice Clemmons was seen getting off a bus about 7 a.m. Monday near the university’s hospital. He says police are checking the area.