Posted on 11/29/2009 7:59:26 PM PST by Steelfish
Four Police Officers Fatally Shot Near Seattle
Authorities call the attack an ambush on the officers, who were meeting in a coffee shop before their shift. At least one returned fire and may have injured the lone gunman. No one else was hurt.
[Pics in URL]
The four slain officers, from left: Greg Richards, Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Mark Renninger. (From the Associated Press / November 29, 2009)
By Kim Murphy November 30, 2009
Four Seattle-area police officers were shot to death Sunday morning in a coffee shop in what officials called a brazen ambush by a lone gunman.
At least one officer apparently fought his way to the coffee shop door and returned fire, possibly wounding the shooter, authorities said. The shooter is likely to seek medical treatment for a gunshot wound, officials said.
The officers, three men and a woman attached to the Lakewood Police Department, were conducting a routine pre-shift briefing over their laptops at the Forza Coffee Shop in Parkland, Wash., near McChord Air Force Base, about 35 miles south of Seattle.
"It was definitely an ambush, target situation. . . . It was not a robbery," said Pierce County Sheriff's Sgt. Ed Troyer, whose department is investigating the killings. "We have our work cut out for us."
The slain officers, who were in uniform and wearing bulletproof vests, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their marked patrol cars were parked outside. They were identified as Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; Ronald Owens, 37; Tina Griswald, 40; and Greg Richards, 42.
Two baristas and several other customers were not injured during the 8:15 a.m. attack. It was not known whether the gunman, described as a black man in his 20s to 30s with a scruffy appearance, wearing a black jacket and jeans...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
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.
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.
Clemmons had been in jail in Pierce County for the past several months on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child.
He was released from custody just six days ago, even though he was wanted on a fugitive warrant out of Arkansas and was staring at eight felony charges in all out of Washington state.
!!!
God rest their souls...and God grant their families and loved ones comfort and pease...assured that they will be re-united one day in a place far, far better.
God also grant that we may identify, capture, and bring to swift justice the animal that did this.
Amen Jeff.
Amen. Thanks for posting the pics.
One of these policemen is the best friend of a good friend of my brother in law. Close to home.
Our world has gone crazy when we let maniacs like this out on the street in the name of what????? compassion????
Sounds like a FReeper.
bttt
(prayers, justice, and photos of slain officers)
Very, very sad.
The guy posted 15k of a 150k bond, as he was going to be tried for child rape, and subject to lifetime imprisonment with WA State’s 3 strikes you’re out law.
It is amazing, that a guy that was SENTENCED to 60 yrs, then got out after 11, attacks a police officer in May, now convicted of child rape, was given bail at all? WTF??
I live only a couple miles away from the shooting area, heard the sirens this morning. I locked all of our doors, checked them to be sure.
We live in fear, as our govt refuses to incarcerate and then keep criminals after convicted. We also have a society that tolerates black racism/police hatred, and we are likely to see this just grow from here. In our area not long ago, two armed black men killed a brinks truck driver at walmart in the head, for $400.
I join you in your prayers, Jeff. This is such a horrible shame.
This should ease Huckabee into office, as no one would dare run a “Willy Horton” ad against him....../sarc
“Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons”
Maybe that is why Huck said today he was leaning against running in 2012.
Huck’s statement.
Ditto to your post. Amen.
I’d say so. This is the nail in his RINO coffin.
His second Willie Horton. Another criminal he pardoned, Wayne Dumond murdered a woman in Missouri. Who knows how many more ticking time bombs he set free are out there waiting to wreak havoc on society?
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