F/U on Lakewood Police Shooting

[vicrock]

Got up this morning to the news that the suspect was shot and killed overnight in Seattle. He was wounded (as reported from the shooting) and in possession of one of the murdered officer's sidearm.

Interesting that with all the searching, the lone officer who found him was investigating a stolen car, and happened on the suspect who drew down on him, leading to the shot that killed the suspect (and saved the taxpayers a WHOLE lot of money)

Sorry if that sounds cynical, but this was the best possible resolution, IMO.

Several of the gunman's "friends" are scheduled for hearings today for aiding and abetting a fugitive - hope they throw the book at them!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo...st01m.html

[decay]

i'm shocked to hear of this... j/k

one of the murdered cops is from Bethlehem, PA.

http://www.mcall.com/news/all-a1_5rennin...0099.story

Mark Renninger didn't do anything halfway. So when he had to take an elective at Liberty High School to graduate, it was a class in which, even as a teenager, he threw himself into the issue of aging and the elderly.

When he went into the military, he wasn't going to be any soldier, he had to be an elite Army Ranger. And when he became a police officer near Tacoma, Wash., he wasn't satisfied being on the SWAT team, he had to be the guy teaching SWAT tactics to other police forces.

It was that kind of dedication -- to everything -- that put the Bethlehem native in that coffee shop in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood, where he and three fellow officers were gunned down by a man authorities identified as Maurice Clemmons.

Clemmons simply was in search of police to kill, investigators say. And Sgt. Renninger, in an effort to better prepare and know the officers he commanded, had made it his Sunday morning ritual to meet them for coffee and discuss their upcoming shift.

''He did everything the right way, and he did it all the way,'' said Michael Renninger, who at 33 is six years younger than his brother. ''He always had this strong desire to help people. A lot of people are sad today. He's touched so many.''

[Racer X]

I hope everyone who aided him gets charged with 4 counts of accessory to murder 1.

[Wags]

It doesn't say the guy drew down on him, just that he wouldn't comply with orders. Still, it looks like they got the right guy, apparently in possession of one of slain policeman's guns. I'm glad they don't have to go through a lengthy and expensive trial. Even still we'll be hearing a lot more about this, especially when election time rolls around again and Huckabee gets to explain why he commuted this maniac's sentence, and why he was out on bail.

With all the press about police use of force I can only hope this horrible incident makes people appreciate the difficult job and dangerous job they do for us.

[ztirffritz]

Arkansas is already saying that he had violated his parole and should have been hauled in. Covering butts. He should have NEVER been released, at least no until his 35 year sentence was completed.

[RAMd®d]

Parole violators are arrested regularly in Alameda County, CA for violent crimes.

Additional information regarding the Lakewood murders:

TACOMA, Wash. -- At least three people have been booked into the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma, accused of helping the man who killed four Lakewood police officers at a Parkland coffee shop.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa...tance.html


The cornered suspect pulled his gun and was fatally shot. The officer was unhurt. He reported calmly on the police radio: "I have a black male that's down, with a mole on the left side of his face."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...938866.ece


Seattle Police Department Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said the officer came across a car reported stolen when he detected movement behind him as he approached the car.

Pugel said the officer recognized Clemmons and ordered him stop and show his hands.
"He wouldn't stop," Pugel said. "The officer fired several rounds and took the person into custody."
Clemmons died from his injuries, Pugel said.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/21760096/detail.html

I don't believe in street executions. But furtive movement and failure to comply in these circumstances easily make this justifiable homicide by a peace officer.

However, that may not prevent wrongful death accusations and lawsuits.

[AlphaDog]

I'm putting in a link to a page on the site of the local paper that has more information about the four officers who were killed. All were hired by Lakewood from other police agencies when the new department was formed in November of 2004, and they were all considered cream of the crop. We have a small department (only 102 commissioned officers), and this is a serious - and senseless - loss in countless ways.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/topstories...75658.html

[AlphaDog]

RAMd®d wrote:

Pugel said the officer recognized Clemmons and ordered him stop and show his hands.
"He wouldn't stop," Pugel said. "The officer fired several rounds and took the person into custody."
Clemmons died from his injuries, Pugel said.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/21760096/detail.html

I don't believe in street executions. But furtive movement and failure to comply in these circumstances easily make this justifiable homicide by a peace officer.

However, that may not prevent wrongful death accusations and lawsuits.

I saw an interview with a woman who was awakened by the commotion outside her house just before the officer shot Clemmons. She related hearing the officer give several warnings before firing his gun. I strongly suspect Clemmons went out the way he wanted - suicide by cop.

[OWC Jamie]

AlphaDog wrote:
I strongly suspect Clemmons went out the way he wanted - suicide by cop.

+1


-but where did all the capital punishment doesn't work people go ?

[decay]

billb wrote:
[quote=AlphaDog]
I strongly suspect Clemmons went out the way he wanted - suicide by cop.

+1


-but where did all the capital punishment doesn't work people go ?
it doesn't work as a deterrent.

it does work to prevent him from doing it again.